Edwin Carr - What's my age again? - CARR | Coleman

I wonder if my great-granduncle Edwin Carr was the sort of person who had trouble with dates his whole life.

I started writing the post to commemorate his death which was January 7, 1970. At least, that’s what his grave marker says. His funeral program has a typo and reads January 17th. ​

One of Edwin's favorite photos of himself - he wanted this one enlarged.

He also never really knew his birthday. Or he changed it. When he reported his date of birth – on a census, military records, employment records, or reporting to law enforcement, he said it was February 7th, 1897. But his paternal aunt, Carrie Emma (Carr) Storz – Aunt Emm - wrote to the State of Colorado attesting that she was present at Edwin’s birth as she was there and it was in fact at her house in La Junta, Colorado on February 26th, 1899. I assume this was to attain a delayed birth certificate, but I have not yet tried to order one.

The 1899 date actually makes more sense based on two pieces of evidence. One, is the photograph below. This is baby Edwin, his older half-sister Edith, and his their mother, Bessie May (Moore) Carr. Now, stick with me here because I’m going to throw some numbers at you. ​

Edwin Carr (right), less than a year old, with his half-sister Edith and mother Bessie May (Moore) Carr. Fall 1899.

Assuming Edith’s birthday is correct, she was born July 31, 1896. If Edwin was born in February 1897, he would be only 7 months older which, while unlikely but perhaps possible, does not match the photograph. It certainly looks like they could be about 2 ½ years apart in the picture, though. Also, the date written on the photo says “Fall of 1899.”

Secondly, Edith almost certainly had a different father than Edwin. Their mother Bessie first married Burrett “Burton” or “Burt” Bigelow (1872-1907) of Pueblo, Colorado. They divorced sometime in 1897 – not long after Edith was born. The next year Bessie married Thomas James Carr (1871-1920).

If we are to believe Aunt Emm’s attestation, Edwin came along about 6 months later. If Edwin was born in 1897 like he told people, Burt Bigelow would be a more likely father. Edith did not spend much of her life with her mother and half-siblings. Instead, she lived mostly with her grandmother and when she was old enough to work she was basically taken in with a doctor and his wife. I believe that if Edwin was not Thomas J. Carr’s son, he would have also been sent to live with someone else. At least until he was old enough to work. ​

Edith and Edwin Carr

My first thought when I hear about young men stretching their age is that they lied to join the military. Well, in fact, Edwin did join the Army. He sent the postcard below to his sister, Bessie (Carr) Coleman. The photo was taken in Denver but then sent from Camp Kearney, California. On the top is written, in what I believe is Bessie’s handwriting, “Edwin Carr age 17 years.” So, he wasn’t yet 18. Why age himself two years instead of one? He probably learned that trick from his brother-in-law, Bessie’s husband. William Oaks Coleman also aged himself two years to join the Army in WWI. He was really 17, but he said that if he told them he was 18 they might question it. If he said he was 19 though, they’d surely believe it. ​

Front of postcard. Writing at top says "taken at Denver." Edwin Carr on right

Back of postcard. Top says "Edwin Carr age 17 years." Text: "To my Sister From, Edwin Carr Co. E. 157th Inf 48 div. Camp Kearney Calif." Addressed to: "Bessie C. Westcliffe [cut off] Colo"

Even if he purposefully fudged the year of his birth, I don’t think Edwin knew which day he was born. More on that in a bit.

Edwin was part of the machine gun troop of the 1st Colorado Cavalry. It joined the 1st Colorado Infantry and became the 157th Infantry. Unfortunately, Edwin’s military files were lost in the National Archives fire in 1973. We do know he was discharged with the rank of Private. ​

Machine Gun Troop, 1st Colorado Calvary. Edwin Carr at front right (marked with arrow).

I was really hoping for those records, because here is where things get weird. I have a WWI Draft Registration card for Edwin Carr signed Sept. 12, 1918. That’s just two months before the armistice. Had he already been discharged by then, and if so, did he really still have to fill out a registration card? The details fit, including his favored birth year though this card says he did not know the day and month of his birth. The nearest relative is listed as “Tom Carr” of Costilla, New Mexico. I don’t have another point of reference to place him there at the time, but Thomas J. Carr frequently roamed all over New Mexico and I would not be surprised at all to find him just outside of Taos.

According to this card, meanwhile, Edwin would have been working as a janitor at the elite Hotel Virginia in Long Beach, California – less than 40 miles from the location of his final resting place over 50 years later. The physical description matches up to an employment card later in life as well: Medium height and build, light brown eyes (sometimes described as gray or hazel), dark hair. While we’re talking about physical descriptions here, let me drop in one more: I also have a WWII draft registration card for Edwin on which it is noted that he has a scar on his stomach. Remember that.

In May 1918, Edwin started to find some trouble. He was hanging around billiard parlors and bowling alleys schmoozing folks up. He was a big spender, according to the newspapers. He told his new friends, who all knew him by the name “Edward Carr,” that he had struck it rich from a Colorado gold mine. In actuality, he’d been burglarizing some of the same establishments. One stunt even involved an employee by which “Edward” would fake a holdup and the two would split the earnings. He was found out only because he was caught entering a shell factory nearby where he was apparently sleeping at night. Police found stolen goods as well as keys to the bowling alley. He served 51 days for his crimes. ​

Article about Edwin, alias "Edward" Carr in the Long Beach Telegram and Daily News, May 18, 1918.

Edwin’s father, Thomas James Carr died in 1920. I don’t know where Edwin was that year, but I suspect he stayed in California. He might not have stayed out of trouble, but as far as I can tell, he didn’t get caught. Not until September of 1921, at least.

According to the many, many newspaper articles – it was a huge story in multiple states – on September 11, 1921, Edwin Carr and Ralph Hewitt assaulted a hired driver in order to steal the car worth $3000 (about $50,000 today). It was said that Edwin struck the old man with a full beer bottle to knock him unconscious before they threw him into the road and drove away. They made their escape from the Long Beach/Anaheim, California area to the little town of Tonopah, Nevada.

They knew they needed to get rid of the car and only had 72 cents between them, so Ralph spun up a story about needing to sell the car fast to get money to travel by train to see his dying mother. The mechanic at the first garage they went to accepted their offer and gave them a $10 deposit with the promise to pay the rest the next day. Of course, he immediately notified the police who arrested them.
Getting them back to Los Angeles required an extradition order from the Governor of California. As I said, it was big news.

Once police started looking into their records, of course, they not only found out that Edwin was still on probation from those previous robberies, but they were also pretty sure that both young men were part of the “Bridge Gang.” This group was known for robbing people, but earned their name after lining up seven unsuspecting people all along a bridge and stripping them of any valuables.

Edwin pled guilty to grand larceny and assault with intent to kill. He was sentenced to one year to life imprisonment and was sent to San Quentin State Prison. Ralph faced the same charges, but I have been unable to find any further articles or prison records for him.

Of note, Edwin’s intake paperwork mentions that he has a large scar at his waistline. Told you to remember. ​

Edwin Carr's mugshot when he was booked into San Quentin California State Prison in 1921.

On Aug. 27, 1928 – 2,515 days later – Edwin Carr was paroled from San Quentin. According to a newspaper article, he was discharged due to “serious illness.” In a twist of fate or karma, no train ticket could have gotten him to the bedside of his own ailing mother. She died suddenly in Colorado from a previously unknown heart problem the very next day. Edwin probably hadn’t seen her since he’d joined the Army.

I wonder if he wrote his family from prison – no living family members knew he was ever there, so if his family at the time knew, they kept it a secret from later generations.

After his release, Edwin did return to Colorado. He got a job at the State Hospital in Pueblo. At the time of his employment, the mental institution housed around 3,000 patients. He would have been employed there for a year or less before he moved on to the largest employer in town – Colorado Fuel and Iron, or CF&I. In Pueblo, CF&I ran the Steelworks. But they also owned mines for iron, coal, coke, and limestone throughout the state so they could control their own resource supplies for the steel making process.

The company kept employment records on cards which included their date of application (Oct. 7, 1929), physical attributes (which again generally match Edwin’s military and prison records), nearest relative (he listed his brother, George Carr who lived in Rye, Colorado at the time), and their address (740 Veta Ave., Pueblo, CO). If an employee was laid off, changed jobs, or had any issues at the company, everything was saved on this one card. Edwin’s job was listed as “miner” at the Wagon Wheel Gap mine near Creede, Colorado – almost 200 miles away from Pueblo and much colder in October than the California he’d likely become used to.

Edwin worked for the company as a miner for 7 days. His reason for leaving is noted on the card as “Quit, going to Pueblo.” He apparently never went back to CF&I. ​

Edwin Carr - unknown date and location. Back reads "New picture of Ed outside our home."

I haven’t been able to find him in the 1930 Census, so I’m not sure what he was doing the following year, but on July 11, 1931 Edwin married Anna Dick (b. ~1903) in Pueblo, CO. I don’t know much about her, but they were married still in 1935.

By 1942, Edwin was single again and had moved back to California. He was working at a restaurant on Sunset Blvd. called Bit of Sweden owned by Kenneth Hansen and his sister-in-law Teddy Hansen. The restaurant was well known because it was the first or one of the first smorgasbord style restaurants. Being on Sunset in Hollywood likely also attracted some interesting customers – I bet Edwin liked that. ​

Bit of Sweden Restaurant around the same time that Edwin worked there.

The 1950 Census has Edwin still in the Los Angeles area, but with a new job as a finish carpenter in a furniture company and with a new wife – Rose Z. I believe this is Rose Zella Cerra, but I need to do some more research to really be sure. This is also the only time I see Edwin use a middle initial – J. He did not have a middle name and so far as I can tell never tried to use one before. Still, other details on this census do match – born in Colorado on Edwin’s preferred birthday of 1897, WWI veteran, but not WWII, and just about 2 miles from his last known residence. His father’s middle initial was also a J – coincidence?

June 26, 1958, Edwin married again, this time to Elsie. I do not have a marriage certificate for them, and know very little about her including her maiden name, but I do have their wedding photo and some correspondence between Elsie and Edwin’s sister, Bessie. I hope to find out more about her as I go through more records and documents that have been passed down to me. ​

Wedding of Elsie and Edwin Carr - June 26, 1958. Probably in or near Huntington Park, California.

There was also a note somewhere along the way of a marriage when he was younger to a woman named Amanda. I have not been able to locate any documentation of that marriage either, but if true, Edwin would have had 4 marriages throughout his life.

He had no children that I am aware of. In the late 1920’s in California, the Eugenics movement was really starting to ramp up in California. Forced sterilizations were becoming more common and were often a requirement for parole especially in cases of violent crimes. Although minorities, women, and mentally disabled people were much more heavily targeted, with Edwin’s assault charges, he may very well have been one of the nearly 6000 recorded institutional sterilizations that year.

I always think that someone who marries multiple times must be very hopeful. If they were not optimistic, they would not bother trying. But each new marriage holds new hope. I would like to think that this one with Elsie was the real deal. It may have taken him 59 years, but then he found her.

I don’t know yet what happened to Elsie. But on January 7, 1970, Edwin Carr passed away at his home where he lived alone. His obituary lists one surviving relative – his sister Bessie in Colorado – Mrs. W. Coleman. He is buried in Valhalla Memorial Park in North Hollywood, California. Bessie made sure that her brother was laid to rest under a veteran’s marker denoting his service in WWI, and as you’ll see it includes the birthday Edwin always used – Feb. 7, 1897. ​

Edwin's funeral program with a typo for his death date - it should read January 7, 1970.

Edwin's grave marker at Valhalla Memorial Park, North Holllywood, CA. In order to get the veteran's marker, the birthday likely would have had to match his military records.