Woodrow Elzer Wilson: abstracts of records viewed in the Ancestry survey (2026-09-26, lean mode)

Tree person 102705341361 in tree 206849982 (FamilySearch PSZS-8J4, WikiTree Wilson-20229, Find a Grave 43766012). These are the pending hints, the records already attached, and the targeted finds for his main gaps. Everything was viewed on screen. Nothing was saved, accepted, ignored or changed on Ancestry, Newspapers.com, Find a Grave, FamilySearch, WikiTree or the Washington State Digital Archives. Nothing was clipped. The Washington death certificate (a free public record) was viewed in the browser's PDF viewer and not saved. Readings in [brackets] are editorial.

Living people. All of his children are living or presumed living (born 1940 to 1957). They appear here only as "daughter (living)", "son (living)" or "child (presumed living)", with birth year where a record gives it. His third wife (married 1964, the informant on his death certificate and the headstone applicant) is given as "R. E." (née Evans) because her living status has not been checked. His first wife, Lorraine L. Lueck (born about 1921), is named.

Sensitive. The death certificate records the death as a suicide. It is abstracted factually below.

Spellings met: Woodrow Elgia Wilson (his own signature on the 1940 draft card; ELCA baptism register 1943), Woodrow E Wilson (WA marriage indexes 1939 and 1964, enlistment, headstone application, WA death certificate and index, obituary), Woodrow Wilson (1940 census), Elza W Willson (1920 census), Elzie W Wilson (1930 census), Woodrow Elzer Wilson (Ancestry tree, Find a Grave, WikiTree, FamilySearch tree only), Woodrow L. Wilson (Newspapers.com obituary index, AI garble of "E."). No original record seen spells the middle name "Elzer".

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Facts on Ancestry as found (before any change)

• No marriage fact, no military, occupation or 1940/1950 residence facts.
• Ancestry sources (8): 1920 census; 1930 census; Ancestry Family Tree; U.S. Find a Grave Index; U.S. Headstone Applications for Military Veterans; U.S. SSACI; Washington Death Records 1907–2017; Washington Marriage Records 1854–2013 (this is his 1939 marriage to Lorraine L. Lueck, not to Mary Ann Worek). Other source (1): "Newspapers.com - The News Tribune - 4 Nov 1966 - 40".
• Family in the tree: parents James Israel Wilson (1882–1941) and Lucy M Harris (1883–1940); spouse Mary Ann Worek (1918–1994); four children with her, all living. His first wife Lorraine L. Lueck, their three children, and his 1964 wife are not in the tree. The Siblings panel is empty on his page (the siblings are in the tree as children of James and Lucy; see people.csv H0080–H0106).
• Hint counts: 7 new, 0 undecided, 0 ignored, 8 accepted.

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Pending hints (7)

Hint 0: Member photo of his grave — STRONG

• Headstone photo attached to "Woodrow Elzer Wilson" in member tree 71023345; shared by nelsoki2003 on 18 Nov 2014, described "From findagrave"; also saved by robertawarnock and DRiedesel. On Find a Grave the memorial photo is credited to "S Ragland".
• Flat granite marker with Latin cross. Inscription: WOODROW E WILSON / WASHINGTON / PVT US ARMY / WORLD WAR II / AUG 29 1917 NOV 3 1966.
• Name, exact birth date, WWII Army service and the Fern Hill marker ordered on his headstone application all fit. Derivative (a photo copied from Find a Grave); Ancestry keeps the attribution.

Hint 1: 1940 census — STRONG

• 2442/67440563. Aberdeen, Grays Harbor, Wash.; ED 14-18; sheet 5A; roll m-t0627-04340; household 115; 318 South Michigan [St.]; rented, $15 a month.
• Woodrow Wilson, head, 22, white, married, born Oklahoma; same house 1935 [index: "Aberdeen" in 1935]; highest grade 8th; laborer, street WPA construction, government wage worker; 16 weeks unemployed; 28 weeks worked in 1939; income $264.
• Household: Lorraine Wilson, wife, 18; Floyd Wilson, brother, 30; Marjorie Wilson, "niece", 30 [index; the relationship and age look wrong for a niece; check the image at apply].
• Identity: age fits 1917; Aberdeen; brother Floyd aged 30 fits Floyd Perry Willson (b. 1910, H0087); wife Lorraine fits the 7 Oct 1939 marriage. Birthplace Oklahoma agrees with the draft card. "Saved to 1 person in 1 tree" (not ours).

Hint 2: 1950 census, Monahans, Texas — IGNORE (wrong person)

• 62308/189113813. Monahans, Ward, Texas; ED 238-7; p. 13; 154 Pecos St. Woodrow Wilson, head, 32, born Oklahoma, married, clerk for the J-P [Texas & Pacific?] Railroad Co.; wife Elynor F, 37; two lodgers.
• The suggested records on the page tie this man to Amsa Woodrow Wilson (Missouri marriages, Jackson Co., VA BIRLS). Different wife, different state, alive after 1966. Not our Woodrow.

Hint 3: WWII draft card (1940) — STRONG, image read

• 2238/50417803; image 44045_02_00010-00215 (Washington, surnames Ryker–Wilson).
• Front: serial number 2040, order number 350. Name WOODROW ELGIA WILSON. Address "416 W. Curtis St." struck through and replaced by "510 E. Market", Aberdeen, Grays Harbor, Wash. Age 23. Born Aug. 29, 1917, Bernice, Okla. Citizen U.S.A. Person who will always know your address: Mrs. Lucille Lorraine Wilson, wife, 1112 Tecumseh, Aberdeen, G.H., Wash. Employer Grays Harbor Chair Factory, Hoquiam, G.H., Wash. Signed "Woodrow Elgia Wilson". Red stamp across the top: "Discharged – U.S. Army – 10-20-45".
• Index (card back): registered 16 Oct 1940; 5 ft 8 in; 137 lb; light brown complexion; brown hair; brown eyes.
• Identity: exact birth date; Aberdeen; wife Lorraine; discharge date matches the headstone application. The only record giving a birth town: Bernice, Delaware Co., Oklahoma, the precinct where the family was enumerated in January 1920.
• Different addresses for him and his wife in Oct 1940 suggest a separation by then.

Hint 4: WWII Army enlistment — STRONG

• 8939/2479168. Woodrow E Wilson; white; married; private; born 1917, Oklahoma; citizen; residence Grays Harbor, Washington; grammar school; civil occupation "unskilled occupations in manufacture of furniture, n.e.c."; enlisted 23 Jul 1942, Tacoma, Washington; serial number 39183940; branch immaterial, warrant officers USA [the file's generic code]; selectees (enlisted men); from civil life; height 67 [in]; weight 132.
• Identity: the serial number is the one on his headstone application; furniture work matches the Chair Factory employer.

Hint 5: Oklahoma Newspapers.com Stories and Events Index — IGNORE (wrong person)

• 50067/4948253156. "Woodrow Wilson", topic Politics, The Delaware Register (Delaware Co., Okla.), 13 May 1920; newspapers.com image 606580433. AI-extracted; the "residence" is the publication place.
• A politics item in May 1920 is about President Woodrow Wilson. Our Woodrow was two years old. Not viewed further.

Hint 6: ELCA church records, Immanuel Lutheran, Seattle — STRONG, image read

• 60722/154283686; image 41742_314153-00318 (Congregational Records > Washington > Seattle > Immanuel Lutheran), register "Baptisms", A.D. 1943, left page.
• Index: Woodrow Elgia Wilson; spouse Lorraine L Lueck; child [one daughter, presumed living].
• Image, entries 2286–2288, all baptised 25 Apr 1943; parents Woodrow Elgia Wilson and Lorraine L. Lueck; sponsors Mrs. Signa Jasper and Mr. Hubert Jasper; remark "Church":
  • 2286: daughter (presumed living), born Aberdeen, 13 June 1941.
  • 2287: daughter (presumed living), born Aberdeen, 26 Apr 1940 (the child the index names).
  • 2288: son (presumed living), born Aberdeen, 16 Dec 1942.
• Identity: his full middle name as he signed it, and his wife's maiden name as in the 1939 marriage index. Three children of the first marriage, none in our tree.

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Sources already on the tree (accepted hints), viewed

1920 census — 6061/85449727 (image 4385099_00298)

• Oklahoma, Delaware Co., Township 5 [header: Bernice precinct], ED 22, sheet 10A, roll T625_1458; enumerated 29–30 Jan 1920; lines 17–27, farm family.
• James I Willson 37, head, born Arkansas; Lucy M 35, wife, born Missouri; children, all born Missouri per the index: Cyril 15, Tulla D 13, Hellen A 12, Floyd P 10, Odis A 6, Ruth E 4, Jewel L 3, Elza W 2 [our Woodrow], Millie M 0 [months].
• For Jewel and Elza the father's birthplace is written Oklahoma (Arkansas for the older children), an enumerator slip.
• Conflict: Elza's birthplace Missouri here; every later record says Oklahoma (see Conflicts).

1930 census — 6224/111711810

• Junction [City], Grays Harbor, Wash.; ED 0045; p. 2A; FHL 2342222; dwelling 31, family 34.
• James I Wilson 48, head; Lucy M 45, wife; Floyd P 19; Odis A 16; Ruth E 14; Elzie W 13, born Oklahoma, attends school; Millie M 10; Roy K 9. Father's and mother's birthplaces both Arkansas [index].

Washington Marriage Records — 2378/6422825 (on the tree)

• Woodrow E Wilson and Lorraine L Lueck, married 7 Oct 1939, Aberdeen, Grays Harbor, Wash. Washington State Archives. Same as the Digital Archives entry below. This source is attached to Woodrow while the tree's only spouse is Mary Ann Worek.

Washington Death Records — 6716/7606294

• Woodrow E Wilson; white; age 49; born 29 Aug 1917, Oklahoma; died 2 Nov 1966, Puyallup, Pierce; certificate 25670; father and mother "Unobtainable Wilson" [index artefact].

Headstone application — 2375/3154201 (image 2375_13_00009-04135), image read

• DD Form 1330. WWII circled. WILSON, WOODROW E.; service no. 39183940; enlisted "Aug. ? 1942" corrected in red to Aug 5 1942; discharged "Sept. ? 1945" corrected to Oct 20 1945; state Wash.; decorations "None"; Pvt., U.S. Army, 470 Ord Evac Co [470th Ordnance Evacuation Company]; born Aug. 29, 1917; died Nov. 3, 1966; Latin cross; flat granite marker.
• Cemetery Fern Hill Cemetery, Aberdeen, Wash. Applicant "Ruth E. Wilson", wife [the 1964 wife, "R. E." here], 14018 80th St. East, Puyallup; signed 11-22-66. Consignee Harry Gylland, office manager, Box 212, Aberdeen 98520. Verified 1 Dec 1966; ordered 29 Dec 1966; contractor at Ft. Scott, Kansas.
• Enlistment date conflict: 23 Jul 1942 (enlistment record) vs 5 Aug 1942 (verified here). Likely induction vs entry on active duty; both can stand.

SSACI — 60901/642163202

• Woodrow E Wilson; spouse Lucille L Lueck; child [daughter b. 1941, presumed living]. This is a parent line from the daughter's Social Security claim, not Woodrow's own application. His own SSACI/Numident entry was not found.

Find a Grave index — 60525/3430828, and memorial 43766012 (read only)

• Woodrow Elzer Wilson; born 29 Aug 1917, Oklahoma; died 3 Nov 1966, Puyallup, Pierce Co.; Fern Hill Cemetery, Aberdeen; plot 153/10/9th Addition; inscription "WASHINGTON PVT US ARMY WORLD WAR II"; photo by S Ragland; linked parents James Israel Wilson (1882–1941) and Lucy M. Harris Wilson (1883–1940) and sibling Odis Alfred Wilson Sr. (1913–1996). No bio.

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Target gaps: finds

Death certificate (Washington State Digital Archives) — viewed

• Washington State Archives, Digital Archives, Department of Health, Death Certificates, July 1, 1907–2001, reference DE_1966025670, digitalarchives.wa.gov/Record/View/B5C331E6A6EDAE8AE447CB42F27C2637 (index: Woodrow E Wilson; death location Pierce; 11/02/1966; residence county Pierce; certificate year 1966, sequence 025670). Free one-page PDF viewed in the browser.
• Certificate of Death, Washington State Dept. of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics; state file 25670; reg. dist. D-2E [reading]; registrar's no. 29.
  • Place of death: Pierce Co., Puyallup, stay 1 month; 14018 80th St. East. Usual residence the same address, Puyallup, Pierce Co., Washington; inside city limits Yes [reading]; not a farm.
  • WOODROW E. WILSON; died November 2, 1966; male; white; Married; born 8-29-1917; age 49.
  • Usual occupation Millworker; business Weyerhauser White River; birthplace Oklahoma; citizen U.S.
  • Father "Unobtainable"; mother's maiden name "Unobtainable".
  • Armed forces: Yes, WW II. SSN 539-05-0263.
  • Informant: "Mrs. R. E. Wilson, Puyallup, Washington" [his 1964 wife; given name withheld here].
  • Cause: (a) Asphyxiation, interval about 30 min. [reading]; due to (c) carbon monoxide poisoning. Part II: "Left [2?] suicide notes" [reading uncertain]. Autopsy: No. Suicide box ticked. How: "Attached garden hose to exhaust". Time of injury about 10:40 p.m. [reading], 11-[1 or 2]-66, "[Died] in auto"; "DEC-1 1966" stamp. Not at work; place: home; city: [Rural Pierce Co.?]. "Death occurred at 12:00 AM" on the date stated. Signed by the Pierce County Coroner, Court House, 11-7-66.
  • Removal–Burial, 11/8/66, Fern Hill Cemetery, Aberdeen, Washington. Funeral director Powers Funeral Home, Puyallup. Received by local registrar Nov 7 1966.
• Also Department of Health, Death Index, 1907–1960; 1965–2024, reference 009594C9-E5C6-B64D-83E7-1D4BC24A0507, digitalarchives.wa.gov/Record/View/6D2AC45ABB885F989D62CC55EDC223D3: Wilson, Woodrow E; M; death county Pierce; residence county Pierce; 11/2/1966. Index only.

Obituary / news report — The News Tribune (Tacoma), Fri 4 Nov 1966, p. 40 (C-14), newspapers.com image 734891548

The one targeted Newspapers.com search ("Woodrow Wilson" Puyallup Aberdeen, Washington, 1966) returned 8 pages; this is the page the tree already cites. Transcription, living people redacted:

Man Found Dead In His Auto Woodrow E. Wilson, 49, of 14018 80th St. W. [certificate: East], Puyallup, who came to this area from Aberdeen in September, was found dead in his auto Thursday afternoon, Deputy Sheriff Spencer Hampton reported. Hampton said Wilson was found by his estranged wife, [R. E.], of Rt. 1, Box 105-A, Sumner. Wilson's auto had a garden hose running from the exhaust pipe through a rear window, Hampton said. Wilson was born in Oklahoma and came to the Northwest as a boy. Wilson was a millworker for the Weyerhaeuser Company's White River mill at Enumclaw. He was an Army veteran of World War II. Surviving are his wife, [R.] E.; two sons, [son (living)], of the home, and [son (presumed living)], of Seattle; five daughters, [four named daughters (living) and one further daughter], all of Aberdeen; three sisters, Mrs. Clarence Fulbright and Mrs. Joe Pearson, both of Aberdeen, and Mrs. Ruth Martin, of Westport; a brother, Otis, of Aberdeen; and six grandchildren. Services will be announced by the Powers Wrigley Clements Funeral Home, Puyallup.

• "Thursday" is 3 Nov 1966, the day he was found. The certificate puts death at 12:00 AM on 2 Nov.
• The five daughters include the three of the Mary Ann marriage, the 1940 daughter of the Lueck marriage, and a fifth name not matching the 1941 baptism name (perhaps a middle or later name; lead). Both sons of the two marriages are listed.
• Siblings named: Mrs. Joe Pearson = Millie Mae (H0104, husband Joseph Henry Pearson); Mrs. Ruth Martin = Ruth Elizabeth (H0096; the tree has only husband Bunker); Mrs. Clarence Fulbright = probably Helen Artlea (H0084, d. Aberdeen 1999); Otis = Odis Alfred (H0092). Floyd, Tulla, Cyril and Jewel, all living in 1966, are not listed.

Funeral notice — The News Tribune, Mon 7 Nov 1966, p. 42 (D-8), newspapers.com image 734893122

WILSON — Services for Woodrow E. Wilson will be held Tuesday 1 p.m. at the Elerding Funeral Home, Aberdeen, burial in Fern Hill Cemetery, under the direction of the Powers Wrigley Clements Funeral Home, Puyallup.

• Tuesday = 8 Nov 1966, the burial date on the certificate. Newspapers.com's obituary index labels this page "Woodrow L. Wilson" [garble].

Marriages (Washington State Digital Archives, Grays Harbor County Auditor, Marriage Records, 1871–Present; index only, no image)

• Woodrow E Wilson and Lorraine L Lueck, 10/7/1939, Grays Harbor; document swgrhmc13210; digitalarchives.wa.gov/Record/View/13D1DBEDD51AC42939555A7B314D50C5.
• Woodrow E Wilson and "R. E." Evans, 9/24/1964, Grays Harbor; document swgrhmc28102; digitalarchives.wa.gov/Record/View/3E62748F453D48F4704C3B20A3728E6A. [The bride's surname Evans is also the surname of one of Mary Ann Worek's later husbands in our tree (H0145); lead.]
• Mary Ann Worek: no marriage to Woodrow found. Negative searches (Digital Archives, Marriage Records): groom Woodrow Wilson 1935–1966 (41 hits; only the two above are ours); bride surname Worek, all years (0 relevant); bride Mary Farnsworth 1935–1970 (9 hits, none ours); Wilson + bride Mary 1942–1957 filtered to Grays Harbor, Cowlitz, Pierce, Thurston, Mason, Pacific, Lewis (none ours). The marriage may be outside Washington or undigitised.

1950 census — NOT FOUND

• Ancestry 62308: "Woodrow Wilson" b. 1917 Okla., res. Wash.; "Woodrow Wilson" b. 1917 with spouse Mary; "Mary Wilson" b. 1918 Ill. with spouse Woodrow. FamilySearch 4464515: Woodrow Wilson b. 1916–19, residence Washington (59); male Wilsons b. 1916–19 in Oklahoma, residence Washington (90); Mary Wilson b. 1917–20 in Illinois, residence Washington (29). None fits. Next: search by the children of the first marriage (Lorraine may have had them in 1950), by "Elzie/Elza", or Mary Ann under Farnsworth.

Social Security and VA — negatives

• SSDI (3693), Woodrow Wilson b. 1917 ±1, d. 1966 ±1: no match (death 1966, no SSDI entry expected).
• VA BIRLS (2441), Woodrow Wilson b. 29 Aug 1917 exact: no match; b. 1917 broad: no 29 Aug entry in the first page.
• SSACI (60901): his own application not found on the first page (b. 1917). His SSN from the death certificate is 539-05-0263 (a Washington-issued number).

Birth — no record found

• No birth record searched beyond the above (Oklahoma had little birth registration in 1917). The draft card's "Bernice, Okla." is his own statement.

Not him

• U.S. School Yearbooks 1265/468887188: Woodrow Wilson, est. age 16, Auburn High School, Auburn, Wash., 1932. Our Woodrow was at Junction City/Aberdeen and finished 8th grade (1940 census). Not a hint; not ours.

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Siblings (for later)

From the 1920 census (6061/85449727) and 1930 census (6224/111711810):

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Conflicts

1. Birthplace. Tree, WikiTree and the 1920 census: Missouri. 1930 and 1940 censuses, draft card ("Bernice, Okla."), enlistment, death certificate, obituary ("born in Oklahoma"), Find a Grave and FamilySearch tree: Oklahoma. The family was at Bernice precinct, Delaware Co., Okla., in January 1920, though siblings born 1915 and 1919–20 are given as Missouri. Weight of evidence: Bernice, Delaware Co., Oklahoma, with Missouri kept as an alternate.
2. Death date. Certificate and WA index: 2 Nov 1966 ("12:00 AM"). Found dead Thursday 3 Nov (News Tribune); headstone application, stone, Find a Grave, FamilySearch and the tree: 3 Nov. WikiTree: 2 Nov.
3. Middle name. "Elgia" in his own signature and the church register; "Elza W."/"Elzie W." as a child (name reversed); "Elzer" only in trees and Find a Grave.
4. Spouses. Tree: Mary Ann Worek only, with no marriage fact, while the attached WA marriage source is the Lueck (1939) marriage. Records show three marriages: Lorraine L. Lueck (1939), Mary Ann Worek (undated; children c.1950–57), "R. E." Evans (1964). The divorces are not found.
5. Enlistment date: 23 Jul 1942 (enlistment record) vs 5 Aug 1942 (headstone application).
6. The attached SSACI is his daughter's claim record, not his own.
7. Jewel's birth date (H0100) cannot be 16 Jun 1917; see siblings.
8. James Israel Wilson (H0056): WikiTree has "James Isreal", b. Rule, Carroll, Arkansas; the Ancestry tree has Noel, McDonald, Mo. The censuses give Arkansas (1920, 1930).

WikiTree and FamilySearch IDs found (read only)

Leads

• Lorraine L. (Lucille Lorraine) Lueck: needs an H-ID and a tree person (spouse); three children b. 1940–42 (presumed living) belong in the private tree only. Her 1940 address 1112 Tecumseh, Aberdeen.
• The 1964 wife ("R. E." Evans): check living status, then add to the private tree with the 1964 marriage.
• Marriage to Mary Ann Worek: search Oregon/Idaho indexes and Mary Ann's own records (she also married Farnsworth, Chrisman and Evans per the tree).
• 1940 census "Marjorie Wilson, niece, 30": check the image (possibly Floyd's wife).
• The unexplained fifth daughter's name in the 1966 obituary.
• Army unit: 470th Ordnance Evacuation Company (unit history for the narrative).
• Oklahoma delayed birth certificate (Bernice, Delaware Co.) if one exists.

Blockers

• None blocking. A second tab (1013502198) appeared in the Claude tab group during the survey, driven by another stage (Adelaide/Arthur Curtis pages); it was not touched.