When he was ten years old, his father left them and skipped town to avoid being arrested. After his father left, his family moved back to Iowa to live with his father’s parents. Several years later, his family moved to Missouri to be with his mother’s parents. It was in Missouri that he met his future wife and her family, although Ruth Moore was still a baby. In 1904, William and his family moved to Idaho and then later to Washington. At the age of eleven, William, along with his brother Forrest, worked on their neighbor’s farm. In 1906, William, Forrest, and his mother all became ill with typhoid fever. When Forrest died of typhoid in St. Mary Hospital, William became the man of the house. William worked for the neighbor at a man’s wages to support the family. Briefly, his father, Jacob Helfer, showed up again, but soon left when he ran into trouble with the law again. When he left, William again became the man of the house. Later, his father wrote a letter to the family telling them to meet him in Winchester, Idaho. The family packed up and traveled by covered wagon to meet up with him. When they arrived, Jacob was no longer there. They lived in Winchester for a few years before …show more content…
My great-grandmother Carrie Mundy was born in 1888. After they married, Eli and Carrie lived in western North Carolina where they owned land. Eli was a blacksmith, farmer, and carpenter. Carrie was a homemaker. Together, they had six children. My grandfather James was born on January 5, 1922 in North Carolina. My great-grandfather Eli died in 1970. My great-grandmother Carrie died in 1984.
My great-grandmother Alice Smith was born in 1903. My great-grandfather James Anthony was born in 1878. After their marriage, Alice and James lived in Missouri on a farm. James was a farmer and carpenter and Alice was a homemaker. Together they had seven children. One of their children was my grandmother W. Maurice Anthony. She was born on November 22, 1918 in Missouri.
As soon as he was old enough, my grandfather James changed him last name from Bumgarner to Bumgardner. Eventually he and my grandmother Maurice met and married. My grandmother Maurice worked as a secretary for the FBI for 34 years. James worked as a musical instrument sales and repair man. They only had one child, my father William Edward Bumgardner. He was born on November 20, 1948 in Washington,