🏠 » Genealogy » Faulkner family
Compiled and written by Kimberli Faulkner Hull
Niece of Abe Faulkner
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© Kimberli Faulkner Hull
If anyone has information concerning Abe Faulkner, please contact me via the contact form.
It is believed Abe Faulkner was the last child of Charles Fountain Faulkner and Lora E. Swafford Faulkner. The birth and death dates for Abe are unknown.1
[Open Endnotes in separate tab]
According to what is believed to be the handwriting of Lora Swafford Faulkner on the back of the photo, Abe is the little boy sitting on Charles’ lap.2
Abe was not enumerated with the family in the 1930 census. Lora was 42 in 1930, so it is possible she gave birth to him after the census or Abe could have been missed on the census.3
In 1940, an enumeration for the entire family was not located.4 Abe was also not found elsewhere in 1940.5
The daughter of Clarence Charles Faulkner stated some people called her father Uncle Abe” when she was young. However, Ernest L. Faulkner, would speak of “his younger brother Abe” and also of “his brother, Clarence,” who was older than Ernest, so it is believed they were two different people.6
Abe was not found attending Tilden Technical High, the high school of Phil and Ernie Faulkner, nor Parker High School, the school Clarence Faulkner attended.7 Abe was not found in news articles in Illinois between 1924-1944.8 Abe was not included as a brother in Frances Faulkner Fancher’s 1951 obituary, but neither was William Melvin, who had moved away and was believed to not be in contact with the family.9 When asked what happened to Abe, Ernest Faulkner stated he didn’t know.10
Possibilities for the mystery of Abe include:
- Abe was simply missed on the 1930 census, moved away at an early age, and has not been located. As Charles and Lora were not found in the 1940 census, it is plausible.11
- Abe was a middle name or a nickname for something other than Abraham.
- Abe died young; this is unlikely as my father, Ernest, did not state that Abe died, just that he didn’t know what happened to him.
- Abe wasn’t really a son of Charles and Lora. Perhaps Abe was a relative or neighbor that lived with the Faulkner family and Charles and Lora treated him as a son.12
- Abe was actually a son of William Melvin and lived with Charles and Lora, as Betty Lou did. If the birth occured in early 1930s, say 1932, my father would have been 9; perhaps he just knew a baby showed up and thought it was his brother.
- Abe did not go to the Methodist Deaconess Orphanage, as Betty Lou did, as she is the only Faulkner listed in 1940.13
Endnotes
1. No birth record was found for Abe Faulkner. However, the author’s father frequently mentioned “his brother, Abe.”
Searches for Faulkner, Falkner, Fawkner, Fakner, Falknor, Falconer, Faulconer 1924-1934, of:
– “Cook County, Illinois Birth Index, 1916-1935,” Ancestry; no record found.
Notes: Only the first and last names of children are listed; middle names and parents are not listed in the index. The Faulkner child born with no first name, cert no. 6050096, Cook County, Illinois, [no first name] Faulkner, birth 9 Nov 1925 was a son of Leo Bernard Faulkner and Lucille Vines.
– “Illinois, Cook County, Birth Certificates, 1871-1949,” Family Search; no record for Abe Faulkner was found.
Note: Parents are listed for almost all records.
– Cook County Vital Records, Family Search; no record for Abe Faulkner was found.
Note: Birth index only; certificates are only available through 1922.
2. Charles Fountain Faulkner (1881-1955) and Abe Faulkner, ca. 1930, Chicago, Illinois; Faulkner-Hull Family Papers, privately held by Kimberli Faulkner Hull. The back of the photo reads “Dad and Abe.” in what is believed to be the handwriting of Lora Swafford Faulkner.
3. 1930 U.S. census, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, Block no. 136, population schedule, ward 8, p. 5 (stamped), enumeration district (ED) 16-341, sheet 5-A, dwelling 46, family 113, Charles Faulkner household.
– Charles Faulkner, age 49, married, born in Kentucky, both parents born in Kentucky, occupation: circular disp in the advertising industry
– Lora Faulkner, age 52, married, born in Illinois, both parents born in Illinois
– William Faulkner, age 24, son, married, born in Tennessee, occupation: automobile mechanic
– Phillip Faulkner, age 14, son, single, born in Illinois, attended school
– Clarence Faulkner, age 10, son, single, born in Illinois, attended school
– Ernest Faulkner, age 7, son, single, born in Illinois, attended school
– Betty Faulkner, age 4 months, granddaughter, single, born in Illinois, both parents born in Illinois Note: Betty Faulkner was the daughter of William Melvin.
4. No census record enumerating the Charles and Lora Faulkner family has been located for 1940.
Residence 17 Nov 1937: When Charles registered with the social security administration on 17 Nov 1937, they were living at 6448 Stony Island, Chicago, Illinois, and Charles was working for Kane Watch Service at 54 West Randolph. Charles Fountain Faulkner, SS no. 360-09-0104, 12 Dec 1937, Application for Account Number (Form SS-5), Social Security Administration.
6448 Stony Island is located near the intersection of S Stony Island Ave and 65th Street East, across from Jackson Park. 6448 S Stony Island Ave, an apartment building. The Charles Faulkner household was not found.
1940 U.S. census, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, population schedule, ward 6, enumeration district (ED) 103-346, sheets 17A-17B, 6448 S. Stony Island Avenue.
Residence 27 Nov 1942: When Charles registered for the WWII draft, their address was 7217 S. Stewart, Chicago, Illinois. United States World War II Draft Registration Card, Charles F. Faulkner, serial no. 1891, Local Draft Board no. 29, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.
7217 S. Stewart Ave is near the corner of w. 72nd Street and S. Stewart Avenue, near Hamilton Park. In 1940, address 7217 S. Stewart was enumerated in enumeration district (ED) 103-1128, sheet 12 A. The Faulkner household was not listed.
5. Search of “1940 United States Federal Census,” records, Ancestry.
71 males with the surname Faulkner, born between 1924-1934 in Illinois were found. None appeared to have ties to Charles and Lora Faulkner.
6. Conversations between the author and her father, Ernest L. Faulkner. Also, communication between the author and her cousin, the daughter of Clarence Charles Faulkner.
7. Yearbook searches for Tilden Technical High School and Parker High School.
8. Newspaper article searches for “Abe Faulkner” and “Abraham Faulkner,” 1924-1944, in Illinois on Newspapers.com, NewspaperArchive, and GenealogyBank.
9. Frances M. Fancher,” obituary, Suburbanite Economist (Chicago, Cook County, Illinois), 3 Oct 1951, p 13, col 2. Also, “Wanted, One Man, Elderly Chicago Man Trying to Locate William M. Faulkner, 47,” newspaper notice, The Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Florida), 6 Sept 1954, p. 9, col. 2.
10. Conversation between the author and her father, Ernest L. Faulkner.
11. Charles and Lora Faulkner were not found to have been enumerated in the 1940 census.
17 Nov 1937: When Charles registered with the social security administration on 17 Nov 1937, Charles was living at 6448 Stony Island, Chicago, Illinois, and Charles was working for Kane Watch Service at 54 West Randolph. Charles Fountain Faulkner, SS no. 360-09-0104, 12 Dec 1937, Application for Account Number (Form SS-5), Social Security Administration.
6448 Stony Island is located near the intersection of S Stony Island Ave and 65th Street East, across from Jackson Park. 6448 S Stony Island Ave, an apartment building. The Charles Faulkner household was not found.
1940 U.S. census, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, population schedule, ward 6, enumeration district (ED) 103-346, sheets 17A-17B, 6448 S. Stony Island Avenue.
27 Nov 1942: The address Charles listed when he registered for the draft in 1942 was 7217 S. Stewart, Chicago, Illinois. United States World War II Draft Registration Card, Charles F. Faulkner, serial no. 1891, Local Draft Board no. 29, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.
7217 S. Stewart Ave is near the corner of w. 72nd Street and S. Stewart Avenue, near Hamilton Park. In 1940, the address of 7217 S. Stewart was enumerated in enumeration district (ED) 103-1128, sheet 12 A. The Faulkner household was not listed.
12. A search of the 1930 U.S. census, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, Block no. 136, population schedule, ward 8, enumeration district (ED) 16-341, page by page search of sheets 3A-7B; no one named Abe or Abraham found. The Charles Faulkner household. in the 1930 census was located on sheet 5-A, dwelling 46, family 113.
13. Betty Lou Faulkner living in Methodist Deaconess Orphanage.
1940 U.S. census, Lake County, Illinois, population schedule, Lake Bluff, enumeration district (ED) 49-65, sheet 1B (penned), Betty Lou Faulkner.
– Faulkner, Betty Lou, inmate, age 10, born in Illinois, living in Chicago in 1935.
Citing this page: Kimberli Faulkner Hull, author, “Abe Faulkner,” Cool Adventures (https://cooladventures.com/genealogy/abe-faulkner/ : published 2021).