Eleventh Generation

213. Myrtle Lea HADEN was born about 1877.^72,139 She died on 16 November 1961 at the age of 84 in Cook County, Illinois.

FamilySearch: Myrtle L. Haden married Geo. H. Bird, 20 Apr 1896, Fannin Co, TX

New York Tribune, 26 Apr 1896 Sunday, p.19
BOONTON
George Bird, of this place, was married to Miss Myrtle Haden, of Bonham, Texas, on Monday.

Probably Myrtle.
1900 Census, Dist 557, Manhattan, New York, NY
300 Manhattan Ave. One of two couples - probably a duplex.
George H. Bird, age 26, no birth given and no number of years married, b. NY, Solicitor for a Trust Co.
Myrtle H. Bird, age 23, b. Texas, parents b. VA

1910 Census. Dallas Ward 6, Dallas, TX, 561 Gaston, Hh 126,
George H. Bird, age 41, married once for 14 years. Born NJ, parents b. NJ, cashier, bank.
Myrtle H., wife, age 32, 3 children, 2 are living. b. AR, father b. MO, mother b. VA
Mary H., daughter, age 9, b. Texas
John W., son, age 2, b. Texas
Mary Bradford, Servant, Mu, age 27, b. Texas

US Army Transport service, Passenger Lists. 2 Sep 1918-14 Sep 1918
Outgoing - from Hoboken, NJ. Detachment of Pursuit Pilots.
Morfa, Raymond J. 2 Lt. Mrs. Myrtle Morfa, wife. 1720 South Ervay Street, Dallas, TX

1920 Census. Chicago Ward 23, Cook Co, Illinois, Hh 71
Raymond J. Morfa, age 26, b. IL, parents b. IL, salesman, Automobile Co
Myrtle, wife, age 40, b. TX, parents b. TX
Mary Bird, Stepdaughter, age 18, b. TX, father b. IL, mother b. TX
John Bird, Stepson, age 12, b. TX
Ida Snellings, servant, age 2?, b. IL, parents b. TN

1930 Census. Chicago, Cook, IL, Hh 335
Raymond Morfa, 35, married at age 24, b. IL, parents b. IL, Salesman, Stocks & Bonds
Myrtle, wife, 51, married at 40, b. Texas, parents b. TX
John B. "Berg", stepson, age 21, b. TX

By 1935, Myrtle and Raymond had separated.
Myrtle was living in Constantine, St. Joseph County, MI in 1940. She gave her age as 60, said she was divorced. Born Texas. She had been in the same house in 1935.
Blaine Steward, Servant, Male, Negro, age 52, separated from his spouse lived with her. He was born MI and was living in Cass Co MI in 1935. Occupation was "care taker".

Raymond Morfa had remarried. He was living in New York City, Manhattan. Hh 119
Raymond was now age 45, and was in the same place as in 1935. He was a partner in Statistical Systems.
Patty Morfa, wife, was age 40, b. New York, living in the same place as in 1935.

Myrtle was still living - in Three Rivers, MI - when her brother DeWitt died, 1951.

Cook County, Illinois Death Index, 1908-1988 on Ancestry.com
Myrtle Morfa, died 16 Nov 1961, Cook County, IL

Myrtle Lea HADEN and George Hedden BIRD were married on 20 April 1896 in Fannin County, Texas.^72,135 They^{^72,135} were divorced before 1918. George Hedden BIRD¹⁹⁰ was born on 2 November 1868 in Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey. He died on 18 August 1964 at the age of 95 in Highland Park, Dallas County, Texas.

1880 Census. Morristown, Morris Co, NJ, Hh 271
Elizabeth W. Bird, 35, married, b. NJ
George H. 11, son
Harry H. 9, son
Anna, 4, dau
Gilbert W. Patterson, 36, Hotel Keeper
Ira Elson, 22 Husler
Jacob Hawkens, 26, Husler

21 Oct 1018
Passport Application #40775
George Hedden Bird of Dallas Texas. Born at Jersey City, New Jersey, 2nd of November, 1868. His father John Bird, born Boonton, NJ is dead. He has never resided outside the US and his permanent residence is Dallas where he is an accountant. He will be doing Red Cross Work in Gt. Britain, France, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Roumania, Albania, Serbia, and Montenegro.
His description: age 48. 5 feet 10 1/2 inches tall. Large mouth, square chin, medium forehead. Hair is brown sprinkled with gray, eyes brown. Nose straight and face oval.
Photograph included.
A note from the War Departments dated 3 Oct 1918, states that they have no objection to this travel for duty with the A.E.G. in connection with the Red Cross.

S. S. Rotterdam, sailing from Boulogne 6 Dec 1919. Arriving at Port of New York 18 Dec 1919. Geo. H. Bird, age 51. Of Dallas, TX, b. 2 Nov 1868.

20 Feb 1920, probably from Dallas Morning News
"Dallas Man Decorated for War Activities"
A dispatch from Paris, France, has been received in Dallas to the effect that George H. Bird of this city who served as a major in the Red Cross with the American relief mission in Armenia and other countries of the Near East, has been decorated by King Nicholas of Montenegro. The decoration is of the Order of Prince Danile of the third class. Maj. Bird already had been decorated by the King of Serbia and King of Roumania for his services in the Near East.

1920 Census. Highland Park, Dallas, TX, Hh 129
Country Club, 4120 Beverly Drive
George H. Bird, Roomer, age 50, widowed, b. NJ, parents b. NJ, Accountant, Bank

1929 Dallas, Texas, City Directory
Bird, George H. (Julia)
(Schoolar, Bird & Co) 511/12 Santa Fe Bldg. Phone 2-2615, Sec-Treas Forest Lawn CO>h(ome): 3843 Shenandoah Av. Phone 5-2228

1930 Census. Highland Park, Dallas, TX, Hh 38
George H. Bird, age 61, age at first marriage 51 [no, that was when he married the 2nd time], b. New Jersey, parents b. NJ. Auditor for creditoring co.
Julia S., wife, age 40, married at 30, b. NY, father b. N. Ireland, mother b. NY
Jeanne B., dau, 5, b. Texas
Barbara H., dau, 3 years, 6 moths, b. Texas.

1940 Census. Highland Park, Dallas, TX
3843 Shenandoah St, lived in same house in 1935.
George H. Bird, age 71, income tax auditor on own account. Julia, age 50
Jeanne 15, Barbara 13

1950 Census. Highland Park, Dallas Co, TX, Hh 64
3843 Shenandoah
George H. Bird, 81, b. NJ, auditor, Real Estate & Income tax audinting
Julia S., wife, 59, b. NY, realtor, real estate
Jeanne B., dau, 25, b. TX, secretary, geophysics lab
Barbara H., dau, 23, b. TX, draftswoman, architecture
Thomas A. O'Dwyer, Lodger, 25, b. TX, industrial engineer, Electric company

FindAGrave.
Son of John Bird and Elizabeth Woodruff [doesn't agree with death certificate]. Married Julia Bridget Shay, 17 Feb 1921.
Buried Calvary Hill Cemetery, Dallas, TX.

Texas Death Certificate #48553. Died 18 Aug 1964, age 95, at Theall Nursing Home in Dallas, where he'd been for 6 months; died of heart disease and senility. His employment had been as president of a public accounting firm. He was widowed. Born 2 Nov 1868 in Morristown, New Jersey. His mother was Elizabeth Hedden, his father John Bird. Buried Calvary Hill Cemetery, Dallas on August 20th. Informant probably from nursing home - Tom O'Dueyer

Myrtle Lea HADEN and George Hedden BIRD had the following children:

248

John Haden BIRD was born on 25 October 1897 in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. He died on 8 May 1898 at the age of 0 in New York City, New York.

Birth Certificate in New York City - he wasn't with his parents in the 1900 census - apparently died as an infant.

New York City Index to to Death Certificates
John Hayden Bird age 6 months, died 6 May 1898 of convulsions and acute entero colitis. Parents were George H. and Myrtle H. Bird. Residence was 132 Columbia Heights, New York City. Buried Greenwood Cemetery.

+249

ii.

Mary Haden BIRD.

+250

iii.

John William BIRD.

Myrtle Lea HADEN and Raymond John MORFA were married on 22 July 1918 in Lake County, Indiana.^72,191,192 They^{^72,191,192} were divorced on 29 January 1936 in Centerville, Saint Joseph County, Michigan. Raymond John MORFA^190,191 was born on 1 January 1894 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.¹⁹⁰ He died on 19 October 1952 at the age of 58 in Grayson County, Texas.

1900 Census. Chicago Ward 29, Cook Co, IL
John Morfa, b. Aug 1862, age 37, married 17 years, b. IL, father b. NY, mother b. Ireland, hog butcher
Kate, wife, b. Jun 1865, age 34. Has had 3 children, b. IL, parents b. Ireland
Jessie, dau, b. Nov 1889, age 10
Walter, son, b. Nov 1891, age 8
Raymond, son, b. Jan 1894, age 6.

1910 Census. Chicago Ward 31, Cook Co, IL
John Morfa, age 46, married one time at age 28, clerk
Catherine, wife, 43, 4 children - 3 are living
Jessie, dau, age 20. Walter, son age 18. Raymon, son, age 16.

5 Jun 1917
World War I Draft Registration
Raymond J. Morfa, age 23, living at 422 S. Michigan Ave, Chicago. Born in Chicago on 1 Jan 1894. Proprietor of Morfa Bros. Garage at 108 S. Michigan Ave. He is single.
Described as tall, medium build, blue eyes, brown hair.
Signed as Raymond J. Morfa.

By 1920 he was married to Myrtle Haden Bird. He divorced Myrtle and married Patty D. Green.

In the 1940 census, Myrtle stated she was living in Missouri, apparently already divorced from Raymond by 1935.

Married Patty D. Green, Cuyahoga, Ohio, 1 Jan 1937. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Marriage Records and Indexes, 1810-1973; Ancestry.com

6 Sep 1938, Patty and Raymond Morfa were on the passenger list of the "Queen of Bermuda", sailing from Hamilton, Bermuda, arriving in New York. His age given as 44, b. 1894 in Chicago; Patty was 46, b. 1892, Texarkana, TX. Residence was given as 25 East 67th St, New York City

1940 Census. Raymond Morfa was living in New York City, Manhattan. Hh 119, 136 E. 64th St.
Raymond was now age 45, and was in the same place as in 1935. He was a partner in Statistical Systems. Patty Morfa, wife, was age 40, b. New York, living in the same place as in 1935.

Found on a Ship's cruise passenger list on Ancestry.com. The S. S. Santa Paula sailed from New York on 3 May 1940, arriving back in New York on 16 May. Raymond Morfa, age 46, b. 1 Jan 1894 in Chicago and Patty, age 46, b. 14 Feb 1894, in Texarkana, TX. There home address was 136 E. 6th St., New York City.

World War II Draft Registration
Raymond J. Morfa, living at 136 East 64th St, NY C. age 48, born Chicago 1 Jan 1894.
Person who will always know his address is Mrs. Patty Morfa of the same address. He was Self-employed, 30 Broad St., NYC.
Described as 5'9 3/4", 177 lbs. Blue eyes, gray hair, light complexion.
22 Apr 1942

1947. Dallas, Texas, City Directory.
Raymond J. Morfa (Patty D) chairmn of bd, Missouri Pacific & Texas RR. home - 5222 Park Lane

29 Jul 1950. Patty Morfa was a passenger on the Queen Mary, sailing out of New York for the port of Cherbourg. She was age 59 and listed her address as 5222 Park Lane, Dallas, TX. She planned to stay abroad for 5 weeks.

Died in Grayson Co TX, 19 Oct 1952.

Texas Death Certificate 49033. Died at the Hospital in Denison - pneumonia, following 4-5 months after a stroke. Listed as Chairman, MKT Railroad. Mrs. Patty Morfa was the informant. the body was removed to a funeral home in Dallas.

Obituary, probably a Texas newspaper
RAYMOND J. MORFA, RAILROAD LEADER
"Chairman of Katy Dies at 58 - Was Director of Eleven Lines, Research Unit Head
Denison, Tex., Oct 19 AP
Raymond J. Morfa, chairman of the board of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (Katy) Railroad, died early today in the Katy employee's hospital here. His body was taken to Dallas for burial. He was 58 years old.
Mr. Morfa, who lived in Dallas, headed the Katy railroad since 1945 and was a director of eleven other lines. He was an unemployed Chicago salesman in 1932 when he began railroading and had one of the most outstanding careers in modern transportation.
Was Pilot in First World War
Mr. Morfa was born in Chicago. His formal education ended when he was 12 years old and he got a job as a messenger in a business office. He later became a stenographer, then a secretary and was due for further promotion when the first World War sent him into uniform as a pilot in the Air Force.
Upon his discharge in January, 1919, he took a salesman's job with Pathe Industries in Chicago. Mr. Morfa was unemployed in 1932 when the Van Sweringen brothers, who had gained control of several railroad properties before the 1929 crash, hired him as a salesman.
The brothers, hard hit by the depression, were trying to recoup their fortunes by obtaining an extension on some notes of one of their roads, the Nickel Plate. Mr. Morfa was one of the salesmen enlisted to ring doorbells to get assents for the extension. He was so successful that he was retained, doing similar work in 1935 and 1938 as the owners kept trying to get their railroad empire in order.
Mr. Morfa stayed on when the Van Sweringen properties passed into the hands of Robert R. Young and his associates in 1937. In 1942 Mr. Young made Mr. Morfa assistant chaiman of the board of the Chesapeake and Ohio. Three years later he became head of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad System.
Since assuming direction of the Katy, Mr. Morfa made the road a Southwestern railroad. His policy of holding board meetings in key cities served by the railroad proved popular among business leaders in the area, as well as his program of electing residents of the Southwest to memberships of the parent and subsidiary boards.
Mr. Morfa was a trustee of the Midwest Research Institute in Kansas City and the Southwest Research Institute of San Antonio.
Surviving are his widow, Mrs. Patty Morfa; his mother, Mrs. Catherine Morfa, and a brother, W. W. Morfa of Chicago, an official of the New York Central Railraod.

Patty Morfa is in the Social Security Death Index - her birth given as 14 Feb 1891 (I believe it was more likely 1894) and she died Aug 1979 in Denver.

Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL, 20 Oct 1952, Monday, p.75
R. J. Morfa, 58, Katy Railroad Chairman, Dead
Denison Tex, Oct 19
Raymond J. Morfa, 58, chairman of the board of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (Katy) Railroad, died today in the Katy employees' hospital here. He was brought her by special train from a Dallas hospital five days ago. Morfa had been ill for several months and in a coma much of the time. His body was taken to Dallas for burial.
Morfa, who lived in Dallas, headed the Katy railroad since 1945. He was an unemployed Chicago salesman in 1932 when he began one of the most outstanding careers in modern railroading.
....Survivors include his widow, the former Mrs. Patty Newton of Texarkana; his mother, Mrs. Catherine Morfa of Chicago; a brother, W. W. Morfa of Chicago, an official of the New York Central railroad, and a stepson, Fred D. Newton of Denver.

From FindAGrave:
Chicago Tribune, Oct 21 1952
Funeral services for Raymond J. Morfa, 58, board chairman of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroad, who died Sunday in Denison, Tex. will be held at 9 a.m. tomorrow in the chapel at 2121 W. 95th St. Burial will be in Mount Hope Cemetery [Chicago]
Mr. Morfa leaves his widow, Patty, his mother, Mrs. Catherine Morfa of Chicago, a brother Walter W. Morfa, and a stepson, Fred D. Newton.

The Ottawa Journal, Monday, Oct 20, 1952, Ontario, Canada
Deaths
Denison, Texas. Raymond J. Morfa, 58, chairman of the board of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (Katy) Railroad.

Chicago Tribune, Mar 5, 1957
Catherine Elizabeth Cogan Morfa, age 92 years, beloved wife of the late John Morfa, loving mother of the late Jessie M. Wagner, Walter W. and Raymond J. Morfa; fond sister of the late Margaret Cash, Ann Hodges, and John Cogan; dear grandmother of Mrs. Jessie McGuire, John and Jerome Wagner, Mrs. Jane Ready and Mrs. June Zimmer; great-grandmother of 13; dear mother in law of Mrs. Christine Morfa.
Funeral Wednesday, 10 am from funeral home, Halsted at 76th street to St. Leo's church. Mass, 10:30 a.m. Burial, Mount Hope.
Parents were Thomas and Catherine Cogan.