Identified! AR - El Dorado, Whitehall Motel, WhtFem 18-21, 81UFAR, Jul'91 - #3 - Kelly from VA

[T rex]

On the left hand side is a yearbook photo of Edith Marie Blevins, sister of Estella May Blevins. On the right is, of course, El Dorado Jane Doe. Those two look so, so much alike. EDJD also resembles Ruth Darline Blevins, another sister of Estella. Unfortunately, there is no yearbook photo of Estella to make a comparison. Estella only completed 9th grade. There is definitely a resemblance between El Dorado Jane Doe and the Blevins sisters. I think that is where the maternal line is, but descendants of the Blevins are perhaps refusing to test their DNA???

Yes there is a resemblance and these are the people I have been looking at for some time now.
The first person you mentioned, EMB, ( I will only use initials) had an aunt, CLB. She had married into the Carr family, divorced and then married another man, ADL. CLB died in 1970 and ADL married again too ES. He died in 1998 in Nevada and ES lived on to the age of 103 and died in San Louis Obispo CA.
It's things like this that get my attention. You can see how this or something similar to it could cause a child to wind up in a family with no relation whatsoever.
I think ADL had a career in the Navy and was probably stationed at one of the many bases in Virginia but parts of this need to be sleuthed more.

 

[T rex]

I feel like we're on the right track with the B family.

 

[Sheryl Locke Holmes]

Yes there is a resemblance and these are the people I have been looking at for some time now.
The first person you mentioned, EMB, ( I will only use initials) had an aunt, CLB. She had married into the Carr family, divorced and then married another man, ADL. CLB died in 1970 and ADL married again too ES. He died in 1998 in Nevada and ES lived on to the age of 103 and died in San Louis Obispo CA.
It's things like this that get my attention. You can see how this or something similar to it could cause a child to wind up in a family with no relation whatsoever.
I think ADL had a career in the Navy and was probably stationed at one of the many bases in Virginia but parts of this need to be sleuthed more.

Interesting! I am looking further now into ADL and his marriage to ES.

 

[Savemecastiel]

This is a photo comparison between Ruth Darline Blevins, sister of Estella May Blevins, and El Dorado Jane Doe. Quite a resemblance there, too. I can't help but think the maternal line of El Dorado Jane Doe is with the Blevins family.

Wow, those noses are pretty much spo on.

 

[Coffee56]

Has anyone looked at the Estella B and the Wood connection. I’m assuming so but unable to find it in the thread. It’s certainly interesting.

 

[Coffee56]

Has anyone looked at the Estella B and the Wood connection. I’m assuming so but unable to find it in the thread. It’s certainly interesting.

I found a discussion a few pages back. I’m finding some additional marriages/divorces for both EMB and ABW. They were married to each other twice. EMB married a total of 3 times, ABW 4 times.

 

[T rex]

Wow, those noses are pretty much spo on.

And the lips and the eyebrows and the rounded off faces with almost no chin. I'm not all that good at comparing pictures but even I can see the similarities here.

I wonder where EMB went after that first divorce and if she could have been carrying ABW' s child. It's possible she handed it off to another family member to raise?
The foster care theory could work too but I think it would have come later in EDJD's life because I think she had at least some knowledge of her family.
Another possibility is ABW could have had an affair with one of the sisters or even the aunt. There's several ways this could work.

 

[Coffee56]

And the lips and the eyebrows and the rounded off faces with almost no chin. I'm not all that good at comparing pictures but even I can see the similarities here.

I wonder where EMB went after that first divorce and if she could have been carrying ABW' s child. It's possible she handed it off to another family member to raise?
The foster care theory could work too but I think it would have come later in EDJD's life because I think she had at least some knowledge of her family.
Another possibility is ABW could have had an affair with one of the sisters or even the aunt. There's several ways this could work.

I found a record that said EMB had 3 children. I can only find 2. One born during the 1st marriage in 1944 and another during the 2nd marriage in 1960. I think if there is a 3rd it could have been anywhere before, between or after those marriages. Marriages seem to be following on the heels of divorces and births not long after. Showing 2 kids between the two of them. Her showing 3 in 1 record. He shows 4 still living in his obit. I find 5 for him so maybe 1 had passed.

 

[UnlicensedPI]

I found a record that said EMB had 3 children. I can only find 2. One born during the 1st marriage in 1944 and another during the 2nd marriage in 1960. I think if there is a 3rd it could have been anywhere before, between or after those marriages. Marriages seem to be following on the heels of divorces and births not long after. Showing 2 kids between the two of them. Her showing 3 in 1 record. He shows 4 still living in his obit. I find 5 for him so maybe 1 had passed.

He had another son who passed. You can find the info in his other wife's obit.

 

[UnlicensedPI]

Estella's children are listed on her widower's obituary. There are three children listed, two daughters and a son. Interestingly, DWW, a known son, is not listed as a stepson, and two of her children are not listed in ABW's obit. I think she kept the Wood name for herself and her children, even if they weren't ABW's children. That's going to make this complicated.

As far as I can tell, Estella's known children are:
BMWP, female, born 1944
SEW, male, born 1950
RSW, female, born 1955
DWW, male, born 1960

In her remarriage record to ABW, he's listed as twice divorced.

Ashton's marriage timeline:
First marriage 1944 to EMB
First divorce 1946 (EMB), one minor child affected
Second marriage 1947 to EEW
Second divorce 1959 (EEW), three minor children affected
Third marriage 1960 (EMB)
Third divorce 1976 (EMB), one minor child affected
Fourth marriage 1976 to ELW, still married at the time of his death

Ashton's known children are:
BMWP, female, born 1944
CWW, male, born 1947
TWW, male, born 1949
RAW, male, born 1952
DWW, male, born 1960

I think we should keep open the possibility that ABW could be a grandfather or grand-generation to EDJD instead of a father or father-generation. If she was on the younger end of the estimated age spectrum, born around 1970, some of the male children would have been old enough to father her.

 

[carbuff]

This is a photo comparison between Ruth Darline Blevins, sister of Estella May Blevins, and El Dorado Jane Doe. Quite a resemblance there, too. I can't help but think the maternal line of El Dorado Jane Doe is with the Blevins family.

The similarity in the teeth jumps out at me, besides the overall facial resemblance.

 

[Alleykins]

I'm lost. I thought we were focusing on the surnames of Wood and Worrel.
Where did Blevins come from?

 

[carbuff]

I'm lost. I thought we were focusing on the surnames of Wood and Worrel.
Where did Blevins come from?

If I'm reading it correctly, there's a marriage connection to a Wood.

 

[Coffee56]

Estella's children are listed on her widower's obituary. There are three children listed, two daughters and a son. Interestingly, DWW, a known son, is not listed as a stepson, and two of her children are not listed in ABW's obit. I think she kept the Wood name for herself and her children, even if they weren't ABW's children. That's going to make this complicated.

As far as I can tell, Estella's known children are:
BMWP, female, born 1944
SEW, male, born 1950
RSW, female, born 1955
DWW, male, born 1960

In her remarriage record to ABW, he's listed as twice divorced.

Ashton's marriage timeline:
First marriage 1944 to EMB
First divorce 1946 (EMB), one minor child affected
Second marriage 1947 to EEW
Second divorce 1959 (EEW), three minor children affected
Third marriage 1960 (EMB)
Third divorce 1976 (EMB), one minor child affected
Fourth marriage 1976 to ELW, still married at the time of his death

Ashton's known children are:
BMWP, female, born 1944
CWW, male, born 1947
TWW, male, born 1949
RAW, male, born 1952
DWW, male, born 1960

I think we should keep open the possibility that ABW could be a grandfather or grand-generation to EDJD instead of a father or father-generation. If she was on the younger end of the estimated age spectrum, born around 1970, some of the male children would have been old enough to father her.

I think grandfather is more likely with the ages of the children. I think EDJD was born just a few years too late to fit anywhere. The older children very possible. Age/time frame would be right and there is a certain resemblance to the family.

 

[T rex]

Estella's children are listed on her widower's obituary. There are three children listed, two daughters and a son. Interestingly, DWW, a known son, is not listed as a stepson, and two of her children are not listed in ABW's obit. I think she kept the Wood name for herself and her children, even if they weren't ABW's children. That's going to make this complicated.

As far as I can tell, Estella's known children are:
BMWP, female, born 1944
SEW, male, born 1950
RSW, female, born 1955
DWW, male, born 1960

In her remarriage record to ABW, he's listed as twice divorced.

Ashton's marriage timeline:
First marriage 1944 to EMB
First divorce 1946 (EMB), one minor child affected
Second marriage 1947 to EEW
Second divorce 1959 (EEW), three minor children affected
Third marriage 1960 (EMB)
Third divorce 1976 (EMB), one minor child affected
Fourth marriage 1976 to ELW, still married at the time of his death

Ashton's known children are:
BMWP, female, born 1944
CWW, male, born 1947
TWW, male, born 1949
RAW, male, born 1952
DWW, male, born 1960

I think we should keep open the possibility that ABW could be a grandfather or grand-generation to EDJD instead of a father or father-generation. If she was on the younger end of the estimated age spectrum, born around 1970, some of the male children would have been old enough to father her.

I think grandfather is more likely with the ages of the children. I think EDJD was born just a few years too late to fit anywhere. The older children very possible. Age/time frame would be right and there is a certain resemblance to the family.

Something to remember when considering the grandfather angle is the child that's between the grandfather and EDJD may be unknown to the Wood family thus making EDJD unknown to them. Just another possibility.

 

[Alleykins]

Something to remember when considering the grandfather angle is the child that's between the grandfather and EDJD may be unknown to the Wood family thus making EDJD unknown to them. Just another possibility.

Good point. Up until recently, my cousin's paternal family had no idea she existed. So, if she hadn't tracked them down, and she became a Jane Doe, they'd have no idea who she was, or anything about her mother. Not a thing, because their father has passed. I'm not even sure he'd have remembered her name, they were two ships passing in the night, and he didn't know about my cousin because he moved away shortly after she was conceived.

 

[sunnynz]

I'm lost. I thought we were focusing on the surnames of Wood and Worrel.
Where did Blevins come from?

As I understand it, the Wood is the paternal line for EDJD and the Belvins have popped up as the possible maternal line through this link via a marriage to a Wood. I'm just catching up!

 

[carbuff]

As I understand it, the Wood is the paternal line for EDJD and the Belvins have popped up as the possible maternal line through this link via a marriage to a Wood. I'm just catching up!

Thanks for that. I was pretty sure that was what was going on but I'm soooo not an ancestry expert...

 

[Alleykins]

OT but relevant here:
I watched a video about a news anchor whose mother was adopted. So, he went in search of his maternal grandmother using genetic genealogy. Researchers were able to narrow it down to four sisters, all of whom I believe had passed by that time. So there was no one alive to ask directly. None of the remaining descendants knew about a pregnancy that ended in adoption among the four sisters. So even though he had the right family, the maternal grandmother never revealed her secret to anyone and the news anchor was never able to find out who his maternal grandmother was.

 

[T rex]

The similarity in the teeth jumps out at me, besides the overall facial resemblance.

I know there's a myriad of possibilities in this case but theres two main lines I've been following, this being one of them. I have to say these pictures have boosted my confidence.