William Henry SHOFNER

The death certificate for William Henry Shofner lists his birth date as July 9, 1875 (crossed out) 1883. The inserted date of 1883 cannot be correct. Neither can the crossed out date. This information was taken in 1947 from his second wife, Della Mae Sigler. William Henry appears in the 1880 census with his parents, Bailey and Sarissa (Hogan) Shofner where he is listed as age 2. In the 1900 census he has a listed birth date of Dec 1878. This is more in keeping with the 1880 census. “Bill” lists his birth date as 9 July 1876 for his World War I draft registration. His obituary lists his age at death as 72, which is also not in keeping with events more concurrent to his birth.

Obituary notes for William Henry SHOFNER

Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Kentucky), Tuesday, 30 December, 1947, p. 10 (Newspapers.com)
William Henry Shofner
Uniontown, Ky. – William Henry Shofner, 72, of Uniontown, died suddenly Sunday at the home of a step-daughter, Mrs. Inez Mae Pearson, in Evansville.

Mr. Shofner, a retired farmer, had driven to Evansville from Uniontown Sunday and died about an hour after his arrival.

Surviving are the wife Della Mae, of Evansville; four sons, Jess, of Morganfield, Ky., William Taft, of Morganfield, and James Walter and Frank Yynn [sic - Lynn], of Evansville; four daughters, Mrs. Bessie West, of Corydon, Ky., and Miss Georgia Shofner, of St. Louis, Mo.; three brothers, John, of Bradley, Ky., David, of St. Louis, Mo., and Jerry, of Providence, Ky.; 25 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Census notes for William Henry SHOFNER

1880 Kentucky, Union County, Bordley Twp., E.D. 38, p.659C, film T9-0444
dwelling 65, family 65
Shofner, Baley, white, male, age 27, head, farm laborer, born Kentucky, parents born Kentucky
---------, Sarissa, white, female, age 26, wife, keeping house, born Kentucky, father born Tennessee, mother born Illinois
---------, John, white, male, age 4, son, born Kentucky, parents born Kentucky
---------, William, white, male, age 2, son, born Kentucky, parents born Kentucky
---------, Mary, white, female, age ½, born in Oct, daughter, born Kentucky, parents born Kentucky

1900 Kentucky, Union County, Magisterial District 6, E.D. 86, sheet 11B
dwelling 219, family 220
Shofner, William, head, white, male, Dec 1878, age 21, married for 5 years, born Kentucky, parents born Kentucky, farmer, cannot read or write
---------, Salley, wife, white, female, Jan 1883, age 17, married for 5 years, mother of 2 children, 2 living, born Kentucky, parents born Kentucky, cannot read or write
---------, Jessie, son, white, male, Mar 1897, age 3, single, born Kentucky, parents born Kentucky
---------, Vera, daughter, white, female, Mar 1900, age 3/12, single, born Kentucky, parents born Kentucky

1910 Kentucky, Webster County, Magisterial District 5, E.D. 142, sheet 12B
Clay & Morganfield Road, dwelling 262, family 274
Shoffner, Bill, head, male, white, age 30, married once at age 17, born Kentucky, parents born Kentucky, farmer, can read and write
----------, Sallie, wife, female, white, age 28, married once at age 17, born Kentucky, parents born Kentucky, can read and write
----------, Jessie, son, male, white, age 13, single, born Kentucky, parents born Kentucky
----------, Vera, daughter, female, white, age 10, single, born Kentucky, parents born Kentucky
----------, Bessie, daughter, female, white, age 7, single, born Kentucky, parents born Kentucky
----------, Jennie, daughter, female, white, age 4, single, born Kentucky, parents born Kentucky
----------, William, son, male, white, age 7/12, single, born Kentucky, parents born Kentucky

1920, 1930, 1940 not found

Last Modified 24 May 2022Created 26 Aug 2023 using Reunion for Macintosh

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Research done and sourced whenever possible by Nancy L. Ratay or Myra S. Ratay. Other contributors noted in sources. Please verify information yourself as this is a work in progress. Last updated August 2022.