I discovered that David and Linda were adopted out. That meant that the two children living with Leroy in 1957 were Randy and Deborah Wakenight.

Leroy A Wakenight

Born: 20 DEC 1911 in Oregon, Ogle County, Illinois

Father: Harry Norman Wakenight (1873 to 1929)
Mother: Margaret Louise Hill (1880 to 1918)

First Spouse: Ruby M Messenger (1916 to 2016)

Married: 1936, not verified

Children:

James L Wakenight (30 SEP 1936 to 31 MAR 2013)
Richard A Wakenight (1939 to Unkown/Still Living)
Roger E Wakenight (1944 toUnknown/Still Living)
Gregory Alan Wakenight (31 OCT 1946 to 14 AUG 2004)
Doris Wakenight (Unknown Birth Year)

Second Spouse: Lucille K Berogan (1925 to 2002)

Married: 1947, announcement (Dixon Evening Telegraph)

Children:

David L Wakenight Hendrix (1947 to Unkown/Still Living)
Linda Wakenight Hendrix (1949 to Unkown/Still Living)
Randy Wakenight (1952 to Unkown/Still Living)
Deb Wakenight (1953 to Unkown/Still Living)
Lisa Wakenight (1962 to Unkown/Still Living)

Died: 24 FEB 1989 in Dixon, Lee County, Illinois

Burial: Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens

Timeline:

1918 Death of mother, Margaret
1920 Oregon, Ogle County, Illinois
1929 Death of father, Harry
1930 Oregon, Ogle County, Illinois
1936 Marriage to Ruby
1936 Birth of son, James
1939 Birth of son, Richard
1940 Oregon, Ogle County, Illinois
1944 Birth of son, Roger
1946 Birth of son, Gregory
1947 Marriage to Lucille
1947 Birth of son, David
1949 Birth of daughter, Linda
1951 Death of half-brother, Roland
1952 Birth of son, Randy
1953 Birth of daughter, Deborah
1955 Dixon, Lee County, Illinois
1961 Death of brother, Floyd
1962 Birth of daughter, Lisa
1977 Dixon, Lee County, Illinois
1978 Death of brother, Merle
1989 Death and burial

Occupation: general laborer (1930), mechanic (1940), carpenter (1955)

Records:

1920 to 1940 US Census Records
Dixon Evening Telegraph (Dixon, Illinois)
The U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 (Beta)
U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 1
Social Security Death Index
The U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current

Variations of Surname: None

First Spouse:

Ruby Mae Messenger:

Ruby was born on 12 MAR 1916 in Oregon, Ogle County, Illinois. She died on 2 SEP 2016 in Oregon, Ogle County, Illinois.

Ruby’s father was John Frank Messenger. He was born on 6 JUL 1894 in Cedar Rapids, Linn County, Iowa. He died in 1963 in Ogle County, Illinois

Ruby’s mother was Lena Mae Ferguson. She was born in 1895 in Illinois. She died in 1937 in Ogle County, Illinois.

Ruby had seven brothers and sisters, all born in Ogle County, Illinois:

Dorothy L Messenger (1914)
John F Messenger (1918)
Kenneth L Messenger (1921)
Pauline H Messenger (1923)
Charles Duane Messenger (1925)
Robert Eugene Messenger (1929)
Harry J Messenger (1931)

Ruby and Leroy must have divorced before 1947.

Ruby’s Obituary:

The death notice appeared on the website for Farrell Holland Gale Funeral Home. It has since been lost or taken off the site.

Ruby M. Wakenight – 100 – 3/12/1916 – 9/2/2016

Oregon, IL

Ruby M. Wakenight, 100, of Oregon, died Friday, Sept. 2, 2016, in Oregon Health Care and Rehabilitation Center. She was born in Oregon on March 12, 1916, the daughter of Frank and Lena (Ferguson) Messenger. Ruby was a member of the Oregon Church of God and was a seamstress for Oregon Manufacturing Sewing Factory. She enjoyed playing Bingo.

Survivors include her children, Richard Wakenight of Milan, IL, Roger (Norma) Wakenight of Polo, Randy (Deb) Wakenight of Oregon, and Doris (Clyde) Payne of Las Vegas, NV; 7 grandchildren; numerous great-grandchildren; sisters, Nancy Krueger of MI and Pauline Glendenning of Oregon; brother, Harry (Linda) Messenger of MI; and daughters-in-law, Barb Wakenight of Mt. Home, AR and Judy Wakenight of Polo. She was preceded in death by 1 sister, 4 brothers, and sons, James & Gregory.

Graveside services will be held Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016, at 1:00 PM in Fairmount Cemetery, 1533 IL-26, Polo, IL, with Pastor Doug Cowan officiating. No visitation.

Second Spouse:

Lucille Katherine Berogan:

Lucille was born on 10 JUL 1925 in Amboy, Lee County, Illinois. She died on 29 DEC 2002 in Dixon, Lee County, Illinois.

Lucille’s father was Albert Berogan. He was born on 22 JUN 1881 in Illinois. He died on 19 MAR 1980 in Amboy, Lee County, Illinois.

Lucille’s mother was Gertrude S Pabst. She was born on 12 MAR 1894 in Amboy, Lee County, Illinois. She died on 8 APR 1949 in Amboy, Lee County, Illinois.

Lucille had three known brothers and sisters, all born in Lee County, Illinois:

Kenneth Berogan (1923)
Albert August Berogan (1927)
Betty Jane Berogan (1936)

What Happened to the Children?

Sharon Strow made a note on her website that caught my attention:

“Adopted all but Lisa and Deb out. Unsure of the reason.”

At first, I thought Sharon meant all ten children. But, I believe she was referring to those born to Lucille.

After Ruby and Leroy divorced, Ruby was probably granted custody of her children. But, why did Lucille and Leroy adopt out David, Linda, and Randy?

I believe I found the answer in the 1957 directory listing for Dixon, Lee County, Illinois. The Explanation page tells us how the entries are coded. I would like to reference sentences two, three, and the last one on the page.

The next snippet is the entry for Leroy in the directory. The RD means that he was living outside of the city limits. The number 2 refers to the number of children under the age of 18 that were living in the household.

As you can see, Lucille is not listed in this directory. And, that leads me to wonder if Lucille and Leroy separated for a short time.

In my search, I found that David and Linda were adopted by a married couple with the surname of Hendrix. As Lisa was not born until 1962, that meant that the two children living with Leroy in 1957 were Randy and Deborah.

But, why did Leroy adopt out the oldest two children? Could it have been that he could not care for them? Was he out of work or injured?

Another scenario would be that Lucille was not mentally capable of living with Leroy and caring for the children. Could she have been admitted to the Dixon State Hospital?

The fact that Lisa was born nine years after Deborah may mean that Lucille was hospitalized for several years before being released.

A close relative or descendant of this family may hold the answer to these questions. One day, maybe someone will read this article and tell us the rest of this story.

Notes:

For more information on this part of the Wakenight family, please visit Sharon Strow’s website, “Descendants of Daniel Wakenight.”

Creating Your Family Tree

Interested in building a great family tree? Remember these important steps:

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.

Talk to your older relatives to find out about your ancestry. They may relate stories about an ancestor that you can add to your family tree. Family history is usually not found in newspapers. It is more of a verbal memory that is passed down from generation to generation.

Find the right family tree builder that suits your needs. You can choose one that has a paid subscription like Ancestry.com. There are also free sites like FamilySearch.org.

When you start building your family tree, add documentation to your ancestor’s profile. The records can include birth, marriage, death, census, military, city, and county directory listings. Any information that you can find will help create a life story about your ancestor.

If you have a unique surname, like Wakenight, you may find databases on the internet that are useful in your search. I use SurnameDB.com for my English surnames. There are many others on the internet for other countries like Ireland, Italy, and Germany.

Genealogy is the study of a person’s “line of descent.” As you create your family tree, you would typically start with one individual and go “back into time.” You would add their parents, grandparents, and so on. There are also family trees that go “forward into time.” Many of these family trees start with a famous person, such as a president or royalty, and move forward into the present time. The purpose of this type of pedigree is to establish a person’s bloodline to that famous person.

There is no limit on how big your family tree can grow. The blank canvas is there for you to use. Cherish your family history, and it will be there for generations to come!