Ruth Lucille Dunham

Ralph Waldo Emerson DUNHAM

Ruth Lucille ARMOUR

Husband: Ralph Waldo Emerson DUNHAM

Birth: 25 Dec 1894, Argonia, Dixon Twp., Sumner Co., KS

Death: 4 Oct 1970, Wichita, Sedgwick Co., KS

Occupation: cafe owner; auto mechanic; tooling dept. of Boeing Aircraft

Father: Jacob William DUNHAM

Mother: Mary Ann KEARNEY

Marriage: 3 Oct 1915, Wichita, Sedgwick Co., KS

Wife: Ruth Lucille ARMOUR

Birth: 1 Sep 1900, IL

Death: 25 Nov 1926, Wichita, Sedgwick Co., KS

Occupation: homemaker

Father: Harry Ellington ARMOUR

Mother: Gabriella CLARK

Children — born in Wichita, Sedgwick Co., KS:

1. Ralph Waldo Emerson DUNHAM, Jr., b. Aug 1916

2. Stanley Armour DUNHAM, b. 23 Mar 1918

Keywords for search engines: USA, US, United States, Illinois, Kansas

Sources:

1. Marriage Record:

2. 1920 Census Every-Name-Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com, Image #20 of 25): 226 Walnut, Wichita (Ward 5), Sedgwick Co., KS, Roll T625_550, p. 179B, SN 10B, SD 8, ED 150, enumeraed 10 Jan 1920, official enumeration date 1 Jan 1920 (extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):°

Ruth Armour was born 1 September 1900 in Illinois to Harry Armour (1874) and Gabriella Clark (1877) and died 25 November 1926 in Wichita, in Kansas, at the age of 26 years of unspecified causes. Ruth married Ralph Waldo Emerson Dunham 3 October 1915 .

Obama's great-grandmother -- took her own life in 1926. Obama's grandfather, then just 8, found her body. After his wife's suicide, Dunham sent his two sons to live with his mother- and father-in-law.

Great grandmother of Barack Obama. (Source: Research staff of the Wichita Pub. Library.)

Died November 26, 1926 from ptomaine poisoning. Resided in Topeka, Kansas. Survivors-husband Ralph Dunham of Topeka, sons Ralph Dunham, Jr. and Stanley Dunham, sister, Doris Armour. (Wichita Eagle)

Suicide From findagrave #32315290

Armour, Ruth Lucille Dunham, Ralph S002 Midwest Historical and Genealogical Society has a number of Sedgwick County, KS marriage affidavits in their library. (Some of the affidavits from the 1870's and 1880's are missing from the files even though the names appear in the index). MHGS has copies of the marriage returns for 1882 and 1883, then 1885 through April 1913. These contain the same information as the affidavits along with when the marriage was performed and by whom. Wichita, KansasMidwest Historical and Genealogical Society

Here you can access a marriage index covering Books A through Z, 9 May, 1870 to 24 May 1922. If you would like a copy of any affidavit we have, please send a SASE along with $3.00 (US Dollars only) for each affidavit to: MHGS, P. O. Box 1121, Wichita, KS 67201-1121. You must include the names of the bride and groom, the date, Book and page number or our committee will be unable to fulfill your request. If there is no date in the date column there was no return made to Probate Court that the marriage was performed. From April 1, 1915 to May 28, 1917 (R405 through T386) no marriages were recorded in Sedgwick County, only that application was made for a license. These must be obtained from Vital Statistics in Topeka. Index courtesy of Bill Pennington. http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/mhgs/A-B.htm Ralph Waldo Emerson Dunham born Dec 24 1894

Ralph Waldo Emerson Dunham Birth: Dec. 24, 1894 Argonia Sumner County Kansas, USA Death: Oct. 4, 1970 Wichita Sedgwick County Kansas, USA RALPH WALDO EMERSON DUNHAM 'If you love your kids, they feel it' September 9, 2007 BY SCOTT FORNEK Political Editor (Chicago Sun-Times) He was named for one of America's greatest poets and essayists, but Barack Obama's great-grandfather Ralph Waldo Emerson Dunham never cared for his name. "He really didn't like it that much," said Virginia Goeldner, 72, one of Dunham's daughters. "It embarrassed him." Dunham was an outdoorsman who liked to fish and hunt. He raised German shepherds for shows. But he had a tender side. "He was a very soft and gentle person, a very soft, sensitive type fellow," Goeldner said. "He told me once: If a dad has to tell their kids whether he loves them or not, he's not doing his job right. "He said, 'If you love your kids, they feel it.' " Goeldner's mother was Dunham's second wife. His first wife -- Obama's great-grandmother -- took her own life in 1926. Obama's grandfather, then just 8, found her body. After his wife's suicide, Dunham sent his two sons to live with his mother- and father-in-law. Dunham was born in Kansas on Christmas Day, 1894. "I can remember Daddy talking about going hunting with his brothers, and Grandma would cook it," Goeldner said. "She would cook rabbits or the stuff they shot." Like most of his family, Dunham worked in the aircraft industry in Wichita, Kansas, which touted itself as "The Air Capital of the World" in the early 20th century. Dunham worked in the tooling department of Boeing Aircraft Co. "He never laid a hand on any of his kids," said Goeldner. "It wasn't like he would tell you what you should do. You did what you knew he wanted you to do just to make him pleased." Children are: By Ruth Lucille Armour 1. Ralph Waldo Emerson Dunham, Jr (1916- ) 2. Stanley Armour Dunham (1918-1992) By Martha Mae Stonehouse 3. Eleanor Belle Dunham Berkebile (1932-2003) 4. Virginia May Dunham Goeldner (1935- ) Family links: Parents: Jacob William Dunham (1863 - 1930) Mary Ann Kearney Dunham (1869 - 1936) Children: Stanley Armour Dunham (1918 - 1992)* Eleanor Belle Dunham Berkebile (1932 - 2003)* Spouses: Ruth Lucille Armour Dunham (1900 - 1926) Martha Mae Stonehouse Dunham (1910 - 1972)* *Point here for explanation Burial: Resthaven Gardens of Memory Wichita Sedgwick County Kansas, USA Plot: Space: 3-C-2 Section: Garden of the Good Shepherd Created by: 8120 Record added: Jan 05, 2009 Find A Grave Memorial# 32649741 Obituary from Find A Grave

Ruth Lucille Armour Dunham Memorial Photos Flowers EditShare Learn about removing the ads from this memorial... Birth: Sep. 1, 1900 Illinois, USA Death: Nov. 26, 1926

Great grandmother of Barack Obama. (Source: Research staff of the Wichita Pub. Library.)

Died November 26, 1926 from ptomaine poisoning. Resided in Topeka, Kansas. Survivors-husband Ralph Dunham of Topeka, sons Ralph Dunham, Jr. and Stanley Dunham, sister, Doris Armour. (Wichita Eagle)

The following is from The Topeka Daily Capital, dated Nov. 27, 1926; "YOUNG WIFE KILLS SELF Mrs. Ruth Dunham drinks poison after quarrel with husband Mrs. Ruth Dunham, 26, of 703 Buchanan street, ended her life Thursday night by taking strychnine in her husband's auto repair shop at 1117 West Sixth avenue. Her body was found by her husband, Ralph Dunham, early yesterday morning. Thursday, Mr. and Mrs. Dunham went to Melvern to spend Thanksgiving with Dunham's sister, Mrs. H. I. Whitney. While in Melvern Mr. and Mrs. Dunham had a disagreement. While Dunham and his brother, Earl Dunham, went hunting, Mrs. Dunham returned to Topeka. Before taking poison, she wrote a letter to the effect that her husband did not love her any more. The body will be taken to El Dorado, Kan., for burial."

Family links:

Parents:

 Harry Ellington Armour (1874 - 1953)

 Gabriella Clark Armour (1876 - 1966)

Spouse:

 Ralph Waldo Emerson Dunham (1894 - 1970)*

Children:

 Stanley Armour Dunham (1918 - 1992)*

Burial: Sunset Lawns Cemetery El Dorado Butler County Kansas, USA
Obit from Find-A-Grave site following is from The Topeka Daily Capital, dated Nov. 27, 1926; "YOUNG WIFE KILLS SELF Mrs. Ruth Dunham drinks poison after quarrel with husband Mrs. Ruth Dunham, 26, of 703 Buchanan street, ended her life Thursday night by taking strychnine in her husband's auto repair shop at 1117 West Sixth avenue. Her body was found by her husband, Ralph Dunham, early yesterday morning. Thursday, Mr. and Mrs. Dunham went to Melvern to spend Thanksgiving with Dunham's sister, Mrs. H. I. Whitney. While in Melvern Mr. and Mrs. Dunham had a disagreement. While Dunham and his brother, Earl Dunham, went hunting, Mrs. Dunham returned to Topeka. Before taking poison, she wrote a letter to the effect that her husband did not love her any more. The body will be taken to El Dorado, Kan., for burial."

References

1. http://www.wargs.com/political/obama.html