First thing this morning, I looked up the addresses of the various government office to get his death certificate and his marriage certificate. I also got copies of his obituary. These are useful things for me to have because they keep me honest and grounded in what the records say.
Tonight I was doing some on-line searching in the Oregon State Archives. One of the things I thought I knew was that he joined the Army during World War I. I thought that I had an enlistment paper showing that he had joined the Oregon National Guard in 1916. Since I have not been able to find it, I have been thinking that it never existed. So I went to the Oregon State Archives to see how I might obtain such a paper if it existed.
While there, I started doing a bit of searching in Oregon Historical Records Index. I searched for Wheeler across all record collections and all time periods. There were 658 matches. So I paged through them. On page 23 out of 27 pages, I found the following entries:
12/31/1914 | Guardianship | Lane | County | 2582 | |
1916 | Enlistment | Marion | Military |
Here is the detail on the second index entry:
Case#
Name Wheeler, Reuel Joseph
Date 1916
Record Type Enlistment
County Marion
Source Military
Identifier
Remarks
So clearly, there is reason to believe that grandpa Wheeler joined the Oregon National Guard in 1916. But what about that first entry? Here are the details:
Case# 2582
Name Wheeler, Reuel J.
Date 12/31/1914
Record Type Guardianship
County Lane
Source County
Identifier
Remarks
What is a guardianship record? According to the Oregon State Archives,
About the Oregon Historical Records Index
index search page | records description list
Probate Records - including estate and guardianship
Probate records have consisted of several subsets over the decades. While these records may include actions related to change of name, abandonment, apprenticeship, and indenture, the following two types are most often found in this index:
Estate case files consist of the papers filed with the county's probate court during an estate proceeding. Typical files may include: the deceased's will; the petition to settle the estate in probate court; an inventory and appraisement of the deceased's property; the final order; various orders from the court pertaining to the case (for example, the appointment of an executor or appraisers; or the fixing of a date and time to hear the final order); bonds; citations; creditors' claims and vouchers relating to charges to the estate; and other items.
The volume of material in these files can vary from only a handful of pages to some that number in the hundreds. Many researchers who examine these records are primarily interested in listings of the deceased's heirs. If you wish to specify in your request we can limit the copying to certain types of key documents, or we can provide you with copies of every item in the file.
Guardianship cases concern situations in which the court determines if and how a person should hold the lawful power and duty to care for the person, property, and rights of another individual considered incapable by reason of age, understanding, or self-control. Records may include petitions, affidavits, accountings, reports, orders, bonds, receipts, and related documents.
Who is incapable? Reuel JosephWheeler? His parents? Someone else? Why?
The archives are closed right now. I am waiting to see what this might mean.
