Sibling Saturday: Luther Blunt the One that Wasn’t Gone

Luther Blunt 

This photo was taken 1968. 

       This photo was in the possession of Mary Alice Coon, 

and she gave to this author for her private collection

There are so many unanswered questions of Mother’s family after the death of Venie, Grandmother Coon about 1923-1924. Grandmother Coon died unexpectedly and her death is a mystery, and one that may never be solved since there is no record of her death in the state of Mississippi.  All Mother’s siblings have passed away and there are no relatives in which to turn to ask questions except my eighty-four-year-old double first cousin Mary Alice. Mary Alice is the daughter of Mother’s brother Morris and his wife Irma, Daddy’s sister. She has helped me in so many ways with the research of our Edwards and Lee relatives; however, she doesn’t know what happened to the first two sons of Grandmother Coon after she died in Mississippi supposedly in a hospital.

I have asked my older living sibling and she doesn’t know anything about family and really isn’t interested in genealogy. My cousin is interested in genealogy, family, and finding answers, but she is as stumped on these two family members as I. So, it is me the self-appointed family historian (because no one else wants to do it) find mother’s siblings after their mother died. This is a quest that I have been on for ten years; finding Mother’s siblings, the Blunt and Coon siblings. The gap is closing in on the Blunt and Coon siblings; Joe, Luther, Julia Mae, and Mamie Blunt; Morris, Essie, Jane, George Coon; and Henry Rowan Coon, Granddaddy Coon’s son by his first wife Missouri Cowart.

The search for Luther was put on hold after searching for Luther Blunt and not finding him on any records in Mississippi, Louisiana, or Arkansas. Since he was not found on 1930-1940 censuses or records that must mean he possibly died soon after his mother’s death. The Blunt/Coon line has been researched for ten years and the search for records has been exhausted; or so I thought. The purpose in looking for Luther in those three states is, after Grandmother Coon died the other family members, Granddaddy Coon, his children, and Coon relatives were found in Chicot County, Arkansas, West Carroll Parish, Louisiana, and Southeast Louisiana, so I thought possibly Luther migrated with them.  Luther Blunt was the second oldest living child of Willie and Venie Blunt. He was born 29 Aug 1901 in Brookhaven, Pike County, Mississippi.  

This genealogy buff isn’t one to give up easily and the search for half Uncle, Mother’s half-brother Luther Blunt was jump started when my cousin Mary Alice in the 2015 sent me some family photos that I did not know existed. One of the photos was of Luther Blunt or (Uncle Luther is the writing on the photo) and was dated in faded ink 1968. I have had that photo for a year and I get those photos out frequently and look at them just for “memories sake.” I have looked at that photo of Uncle Luther several times in the past year, and recently it came to my mind, “Uncle Luther, 1968! He isn’t dead he was alive in 1968, so he would be on censuses.”

One of the tips in genealogical research for breaking through difficult genealogical problems it to go back over the records and information that has been collected for an ancestor. One more time I went back through those pictures and on the picture was the date 1968. He didn’t die after Venie died about 1923 or 1924. He is alive somewhere in Mississippi, Arkansas, or Louisiana. I had found Joe Blunt in Louisiana and he is most likely living near his brother.

Another research clue when looking for ancestors or collaterals is to look at spelling variations in names. I knew this, but I had never seen the surname of mother’s half siblings’ names spelled any way except Blunt. Armed with this new found information, the spelling variation of the name, the year on the photo, and the clues that I know that every genealogist uses when they come upon a difficult problem, I set out to find Luther Blunt. First, I looked for Luther Blunt in a narrow search on the 1930 census. Then I looked for Luther Blount on the 1930 census in Mississippi. Bingo! I found a Luther Blount and the age and place of birth fit, as did the place of birth of his parents. Then, there was Luther Blount, with a wife and children on the 1940; also living with Luther, who was the head of the family, was a brother Joe Blount age 45 and widowed. Double bingo! Luther and Joe living in the same household, and Joe was widowed; no wonder I couldn’t find him and his wife in 1930 his name was spelled differently and he was living with his brother. Cousin Mary Alice had told me that Uncle Luther was married and had two or three girls. Luther Blount and his wife Effie had three daughters.

Now this family is coming together and facts are being pieced together about where the children went after the sudden unexpected death of their mother. Luther was living in the area where he grew up, and there until his death.

As I was coming to the end of the research for mother’s half sibling it was a feeling of joy to know that I have added another piece of the puzzle to the Coon/Blunt family and it won’t be long to all the pieces fit together perfectly.

The research continues for the last remaining Blunt siblings, but that is a story for another day.