KY KY - Maudie Burton, 29, Louisa, 31 March 1941

[TheArtfulDetective]

Maudie Mae Diamond Burton



Missing since: March 31, 1941
Location missing: Louisa, KY
Case Classification: Missing

Description:
Year of Birth: circa 1913
Age at disappearance : 29
Gender: Female
Bio group: White
Eye colour: Hazel
Hair: Black
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 145
Aliases/Nicknames: N/A
Distinguishing characteristics: N/A
Clothing/Jewelry/Personal Items: N/A
Identifiers: N/A

Circumstances of Disappearance:
Burton was last seen on East Main Street on March 31, 1941 . Shortly before her disappearance, she had been arrested for child desertion charges but was released after being found not guilty. Burton has never been heard from since her release from jail, and her whereabouts remain unknown.

Investigators:
Lawrence County Sheriff's Department
Call: (606) 638-4368

MCP Security & Investigations
John Mackey - Private Investigator
Call: (888) 511-0498



https://www.wehelpthemissing.org/missing
PorchlightUSA-1941 Burton, Maudie May 3-21-1941

 

[Richard]

80 years missing...

LINK:

Missing Diamond Woman - Genealogy.com

 

[Loralee]

Birth: Maudie M. Diamond
DOB: 1 May 1913
Location: Lawrence, Kentucky, USA
Mother: Cordelia Cullwell (s/b Caldwell)
(Volume Number: 54, Certificate Number: 26854, Volume Year: 1913, Kentucky, Birth Index, 1911-1999)

Father: Grover Cleveland Diamond (as confirmed on her marriage record)

Her mother died when she was 3 years old and in 1920 Maudie Evans (age 6) was living as the adopted daughter of Alfred Evans (age 27) and Vina Pearlie Burton (age 16) in Cherokee, Lawrence, Kentucky. Alfred was a labourer. Before 1923 they were divorced when Alfred remarried.

I may be making a leap, but it's possible Howard her husband was a family member of Pearls. I was unable to find Pearl or Maud in the 1930 census (1 Apr 1930)

Maude married Raymond Howard Burton on 5 Apr 1930 in Lawrence. He listed his parents as J.S. and Lizzie Jordan.

During the 1940 census the family went by the last name Jordan. There were 5 children in the home on 1 Apr 1940 (date of census).

Name | Relation | Status | Sex | Age | Birth | Place​

1. Raymond Jordan Head Married M 30 Kentucky
2. Maud Jordan Wife Married F 29 Kentucky
3. James H Jordan Son Single M 9 Kentucky
4. Edith Jordan Daughter Single F 8 Kentucky
5. Elizabeth Jordan Daughter Single F 6 Kentucky
6. Jay O Jordan Son Single M 5 Kentucky
7. Franklin D Jordan Son Single M 3 Kentucky

I'm curious as to why the family adopted the name Jordan in 1940. All but one of the children were registered with the last name Burton.

They lived in Fallsburg, Lawrence, Kentucky on 10 Oct 1940 when her husband filled out his WWII draft card. His employer was recorded as 'none'.

Some of the above links mention they had 6 children. If that's true, she must have had the 6th child between 2 Apr 1940 and Feb 1941 in order to be charged with desertion. Is it possible she was suffering from postpartum depression? The combination of having a brand new baby and her husband being out of work and possible postpartum could have caused her to run away (again?) or worse.

Reading some of the above links it seems her children believed she was murdered and that someone was hiding the truth of the whereabouts of her remains. I wonder if there is any evidence of that, or if it was family lore that became adopted as 'truth' amongst family members?

I've updated her profile on familysearch at the link below.
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/sources/G4XH-NZ8

 

[Richard]

Bumping thread up. This March will mark 82 years since she disappeared.

 

[HopeRains]

The Palm Beach Post, 12 Apr 84, Pg 58 (article spells middle name as May)

 

[TenaciousTBacon]

I wonder if she left town after she was released from jail after her trial. She could have started life over elsewhere. It was easier to do in the 1940s.

 

[nerosleuth]

Looking at the calendar for the year of 1941, the date of March 31, 1941 was on a Monday.

Louisa, Kentucky is 30 miles south of Ashland, Kentucky next to the Big Sandy River on the Kentucky West Virginia border.

After reading the posts upthread, I strongly suspect that Maudie Burton did not leave Louisa on her own accord, and I also believe that she would not have leave her children in the care of an abusive husband.

 

[Jordyt24]

According to the 1950 census Raymond Howard Burton was remarried to a Julia Carter, and living with her two sons Charles Moran and Luther Moran in Rural Lawerence Kentucky and listed as “farmer”

 

[Jordyt24]

Also Maudie Burton or Maudie Diamond, is not listed missing on NamUS or the Doe Network, maybe the family should go through the process of getting her listed on these sites.

 

[nerosleuth]

I noticed that Maudie Burton or Maudie Diamond is also not listed missing on Charley Project.

Does anyone know if NamUs, Doe Network, and Charley Project have any time frame cutoff criteria concerning older missing person cases from several decades ago that get listed on their websites?

 

[TheArtfulDetective]

Anniversary of disappearance today.

 

[ColdCaseCarrie]

I realize this may not be extremely relevant to her disappearance date of 1941, but I did find this census, that lists Maude and Raymond and their children at the time of the 1940 Census living in Union Township in Ohio, and using the Surname of Jordan. I am only including this on the off chance she may have had connections to Union County Ohio and may have possibly gone back to that area when she disappeared. It is just a thought and possibility and something I wanted to add to the discussion. I have attached a copy of the census page to this post.

 

[ColdCaseCarrie]

I believe that when researching a case that it is good to have as much of the peripheral information about each person involved, so that you have a clearer picture of the events as they were at the time. To that thought, I am adding this bit of interesting, albeit not directly related, but perhaps important in the big scheme of things. I do not know for sure if this is a for sure. I only offer as a working theory and I will give you my reasons why I tend to think it possible.

Theory...

1. Raymond Burton may have been born Raymond Jordan. It would seem so given that his father and mother were listed as Jordan on his marriage certificate and the 1940 census of Union Township, Ohio shows Raymond living with Maude and the children at the time - and all of them are living under the surname Jordan. So my case for the fact that he possibly was born under the surname "Jordan" is strong I think. Why and how he ever came to be known as "Burton", I do not know.

2. The second part of my theory is that although "Raymond Burton" listed his parents as J.S. and Lizzie Jordan on his marriage certificate, my theory (which doesn't have a lot to back it up, but it is interesting and maybe something is there, so hear me out...) is that he may have been living with J.S. and Lizzie Jordan and they may have been related to him but I do not think they are his parents. Why? Two reasons. The first is the record and the second is a very strong hunch having known the family for a long time.

I believe that Raymond Burton was born to Nora Dixon and William Arbie Jordan and not J.S. and Lizzie. If so, by the time that Raymond was married, his mother, who was deceased on or around 1934, would have been already passed. He may have then went to live with some of their relatives -- J.S. and Lizzie for example. That may be why he listed them as his parents, because at the time, they may have been acting as such. NOW REMEMBER - THIS IS ALL SUPPOSITION AND FOOD FOR THOUGHT at this point. But I will l back up my theory with the record of Raymond's Birth to Nora Dixon and William Arbie Jordan.

I further believe that Nora Dixon that I am supposing could be Raymond's true birth mother was one and the same as Nora Elizabeth Jordan Dixon who married William Dixon on August 13, 1911 in Lawrence County Kentucky. It is also curious that Nora's middle name was "Elizabeth"... as in "Lizzie". Why do I think this Nora is Raymond's true mother? For one very personal reason.

I found a photograph of Nora which I will attach here and looking at her, it is like looking at Raymond's son, Jay, if he was wearing a wig. I recognized her as I was scrolling because of how very much she looked like Raymond's son, Jay. I will try to find a pic of Jay for comparison. If so, Nora would have been Jay's paternal grandmother and that would make sense that they looked so much alike. At the very least, I believe that this Nora and Raymond's son were definitely related.

How might all this matter in finding the truth about Maude's whereabouts? Well, maybe nothing and maybe something. As I said...they more we know about the people involved in the mystery, perhaps the clearer the overall pic will become. P.s. Did you notice that one is named N"ora" and that Jay's middle name is "Ora"...just saying...

 

[HopeRains]

Louisa, KY borders the state line of WV.