The Taber, Lovenguth, & Elliott Families
The Missing Tabers
If you think my information on the Metternichs was sketchy, wait until you read this! Everything I know about the Taber family is uncertain. The only data I am absolutely positive about is that my grandmother, Ruth Taber Metternich's father's name was Elmer Taber. Ruth's birth certificate indicates only who he was and that he was 25 years old at the time of her birth.
Knowing only this, I set out on a mission to find the Taber family. The only Taber family living in Orange, Essex, New Jersey at the time of Ruth's birth was the Henrietta Taber family. The 1900 Orange Census shows Henrietta, a widow, living with her two sons. The census states she was born in August of 1859 in Canada. She came to the United States in 1868. During her marriage she had 3 children, but only two were living in 1900. One, whose first name I cannot read, was born in Massachusetts in March of 1880. The other's name is Almer (Elmer?) and he was born in New Jersey in August of 1887. This would make him 25 years old at the time of Ruth's birth.
That is the only information I can find on Elmer Taber, if this is the correct Elmer. As with everything else, I'm still researching away. I'll keep everyone updated.
The Lovenguth Family
Lovenguth is also a difficult name to research. It can be spelled several ways (Leavenguth, Leavengut, Lovengut, Lovengood); it even became Leavengood in many histories.
Ruth Taber's mother was Ella Margaret Lovenguth. If anyone should have a tale to tell, it would be her. Ella is somewhat a mystery to me because her documented actions contradict each other many times. Ella's family also appears on the 1900 census. The 1900 West Orange, Essex, New Jersey census shows Jacob Lovenguth, a widow, boarding in the home of Annie Mills. Jacob was born in New York in July of 1855. He can also be found in the 1887 West Orange City Directory, which shows his profession as 'hatter.' This information agrees with the 1900 census.
Living with Jacob are his two children; William who was born in February of 1879, and Ella who was born in February of 1889 somewhere in New Jersey.
The next time we see Ella is at the time of Ruth's birth. My grandmother Ruth was born on July 11, 1912 in Orange Memorial Hospital in Orange, Essex, New Jersey. The birth certificate was not filed until February 24, 1913, eight months after Ruth's birth. The original birth certificate is missing a great deal of information. A correction form was submitted along with the original and contains more pertinent information (including the father's name).
It was very interesting that Ella did not list the father's name on the original. This and several other factors have led me to believe that Ella and Elmer Taber were never married. There is no mention of Elmer after Ruth's birth. In fact, when the two certificates were submitted in 1913, Ella was already married to Edward Elliott (she signs the certificates "Mrs. Edward Elliott").
Another fact worth mentioning is that Mrs. E. Metternich witnessed the correction form. It seems quite a coincidence that her future mother-in-law witnessed Ruth's very own birth certificate, so I assume that Henry & Ruth knew each other all their lives.
The Elliott Families
After Ruth's birth there is no more mention of the Tabers. Ella was married to Edward Elliott by February 1913. Little is known about Edward. He was born about 1889 (estimate from the ages given on his children's birth certificates). He was in the bakery trade, baking and driving delivery trucks.
I do not have copies of all the Elliott children's birth certificates, so it's been difficult to determine how many children they had. Each certificate asks the number of children for the marriage and how many are living. Taking that into consideration I've come up with at least nine children (not counting Ruth Taber). Ella & Edward died before their children were full grown, and many of their children ended up in orphanages and foster care for reasons unknown.
The first child's name is unknown and it died before 1915. The second child's name is also unknown. Whether the second child lived long is also a mystery.
The third child was named Frederick Beckstead Elliott, and he was born on May 5, 1915. Whether he is still alive is a mystery.
The fourth child was Stanley Edward Elliott, or "Uncle Stanley" as we affectionately knew him. He was born on January 4th, 1917. Uncle Stanley was my only connection with the Elliott family. I have many fond memories of him from my childhood. He was married to Myrtle Holder for over 50 years. Together they had 2 daughters, Irene & Diane. Uncle Stanley was a World War II veteran, having fought the German Nazis on the European front. He was a talented sign painter and a clever handy man. He died just this past year on March 9, 2001.
The fifth child born was named Eleanor Elliot. Eleanor married William McFadzean and together they have a daughter named Caren.
The sixth child was named Harold Elliott, and he was born on September 24, 1919 Harold may have died in childhood because nothing is ever mentioned of him that I can remember.
The seventh child was Evelyn Marie Elliott. Evelyn was born on January 17, 1921. She married Mr. Russel (his first name is unknown). She died on April 16, 1982 in Keyport, Monmouth, New Jersey.
The eighth child born to Ella & Edward was Edward Elliott, Jr.
The ninth and final child born (I hope) was Gloria Mae Elliott. She was born on April 13, 1927. Gloria married a man named Nicholas and had a child named Robert. She later married Harold Beers and together they had a son named Christopher. Gloria died in Linden, Union, New Jersey on January 25, 1999.
The strange thing about Ella & Edward Elliott, is that they kept having children when, from what I've gathered, they could not support and raise them. Granted, times were hard on everyone, but I get the impression that the children may have been taken away by the State. Ruth lived with the Metternichs during many different times, and the Elliott children themselves were divided up amongst foster homes and orphanages. My only explanation is that Ella was either 'unfit' or suffering from a long illness. Edward must have died sometime after 1927, and Ella herself died in 1932. She was buried by the State of New Jersey on April 18, 1932 in Woodland Cemetery, Newark, Essex, New Jersey.
As far as I know no pictures of Ella, Edward, or Ruth and the Elliott children survive. My research on the Taber, Elliott, and Lovenguth families has been less than forthcoming. I did have a few leads last summer on another Lovenguth family that lived in Orange at the time of our Lovenguths, but as of yet I've been unable to link them together.
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