Jacob Stoker Welker

Jacob Stoker Welker was named for his paternal grandfather and was the son of John Quincy Welker and Julia Ann Morris Welker. He was born April 22, 1894, in Bloomington, Bear Lake, Idaho. In the 1900 U.S. Federal Census for Bloomington, Bear Lake, Idaho, they were listed as follows: John Q., 37, Julia, 32, Quincy E., 15, Samuel S., 13, Jacob, 5, and Morris, 1 year old. John and Julia had been married for 16 years, had given birth to 6 children, 4 of whom were still living. Next door was John Quincy Welker's father, Jacob Stoker Welker, 71, and mother, Harriet Angeline Lish Welker, 61, and their son Alva A., 24. Jacob and Harriet had been married for 45 years, had given birth to 13 children, 11 of whom were still living. Both John Q. Welker and his father, Jacob, were working as farmers, and Alva was working as a farm laborer.

Jacob married Edith Althea Thornock June 1, 1917, in Bloomington, Bear Lake Idaho. She was the daughter of Joseph Bott Thornock and Ellen Sabina Painter, who were married September 13, 1894, in Bear Lake, Idaho. Edith was born June 16, 1895, in Bloomington, Bear Lake, Idaho. Edith's father was born in Bloomington, and her mother in Portsmouth, England.

When Jacob completed his U.S. World War I Draft Registration Card on June 15, 1917, he was 23 years old, married, and working as a farmer for N.F. Sagmiller of Paris, Idaho. Jacob described himself as being of medium height and a slender build with blue eyes and brown hair. Jacob served as a private in the U.S. Army during World War I, according to his gravestone.

Jacob and Edith had three children, Freda, born in 1919, Evan born in 1923, and Von born in 1925. In the 1920 U.S. Federal Census for Lincoln County, Wyoming, they were listed as follows: Jacob, 25, Edith, 24, Freda, 1, and living with them were Edith's brothers, Golden, 21, and Hugh, 20, and cousin Lesly, 20. Jacob was working as a miner as were all the Thornock boys.

By 1930, Jacob and Edith and their children were living in Conda, Caribou County, Idaho, and were listed as follows in the census: Jacob, 35, Edith, 34, Freda E., 11, Evan T., 7, and Von T., 5. Jacob was still working as a miner for a phosphate mine.

In the 1940 U.S. Federal Census for Paris, Bear Lake, Idaho, they were listed in the census record as follows: Jacob, 46, Edith, 43, Freda, 21, Evan, 17, and Von, 16. They were all born in Idaho except Evan who was born in Wyoming. Jacob had an 8th grade education, Edith had 1 year of high school, Freda had one year of college, Evan was in the 3rd year of high school and Von was in the first year of high school. Jacob was working as a labor for the WPA, and Freda was working in a library. For the 40 weeks that Jacob worked in 1939 at 40 hours per week, his income was $360. He had been out of work for 12 weeks that year. Freda's income was not listed in the census record.

When Jacob completed his U.S. World War II Draft Registration Card in 1942, he was 48 years old, living in Paris, Idaho, and was unemployed. The name of the person who would always know his address was listed as Melando Rich of Paris, Idaho.

Edith Althea Thornock Welker passed away on September 5, 1951, in the St. Benedict's Hospital in Weber, Utah, from a pulmonary embolism, tracheo-bronchitis and post thyroidectomy-tracheal stenosis. She was buried in the Blomington Cemetery on September 8, 1951. At the time Edith and Jacob were living at 2679 Childs Avenue in Ogden, Utah.

Jacob Stoker Welker married twice after the death of his first wife Edith. The names of his other two wives were Odetta and Rose. Jacob married Odetta Goodrich on March 1, 1953, in Bannock, Idaho. Odetta's maiden name may have been Aldous, since an obituary from the Wickenburg Sun, Wickenburg, Arizona, dated January 12, 1989, on page 2, a brother of hers, Newel "Newt" F. Aldous, 91, died January 6th in his home. Odetta Goodrich of Pocatello, Idaho, was listed as one of his survivors. She was also mentioned as a survivor of another brother, John L. "Jack" Aldous, 82, who died in 1978 per the same newspaper mentioned above.

Odetta Matilda Aldous had married a Ralph W. Goodrich March 12, 1927, in Salt Lake City, Utah. In 1930 they were living in Pocatello, Idaho, and had a one and a half year old son named Robert. She was born February 22, 1906, and passed away May 5, 2004. Perhaps she and Jacob Stoker Welker were not married long, because her Find A Grave memorial lists her as Odetta Matilda Aldous Goodrich. However, according to the 1940 census for Downey, Idaho, Odetta, 33, was divorced, and living with her sons, Robert A., 11, and Kenneth L., 7, and her parents, Robert F. Aldous, 76, and Matilda Felt Aldous, 73, and her brother, Stanley, 30. Odetta passed away on May 5, 2004, and was buried in the Cambridge Cemetery in Downey, Idaho.

Jacob was listed with his wife, Rose W., in a 1959 U.S. City Directory Listing for Ogden, Utah, and he was working for UGD Corporation. They were living at 1502 Childs Avenue, and Jacob's son Evan, and his wife, Margie E., were living at 200 N. Washington Boulevard. Evan was working as a teacher at the Utah State Industrial School.

Jacob Stoker Welker passed away on October 7, 1972, and was buried in the Washington Heights Memorial Park Cemetery in Ogden, Weber county, Utah, Plot: Circleview on October 15, 1972.