Edwina Hearne Christopher and Charles Colden Searles

Edwina Hearne Christopher was born in Kansas City 06 Jul 1903, the oldest child and only daughter of Mary Frances Hearn and Stanley Pitkin Christopher.

On 28 Jun 1924, Edwina married Charles Colden Searles in Kansas City. Charles had been born in Dubuque, Iowa, 11 Sep 1900, the son of Grace Albee and Charles Selah Searles. His mother was from Iowa but his father was from Illinois. The family moved to Evanston, Cook County, Illinois sometime between 1905 and 1910.

Following their wedding, Edwina and Charles left for a honeymoon in Europe. This required some planning. At the time, married women shared a passport with their husbands. However, in order to get a passport in time for the trip, Edwina and Charles needed to apply for it before they were married. The application was filed in Manhattan 12 Apr 1924. It included a notarized affidavit from Kansas City dated 11 Mar 1924 in which Mary Frances swore to Edwina's identity. It also included a note from Charles requesting that the passport be forwarded to the American Consulate in Quebec, to be handed over to him and Edwina on presentation of their marriage certificate at the Consulate. The couple planned to sail from Quebec on 02 Jul 1924 aboard the SS Emp[ress?] of Scotland on a four-month tour that included the British Isles, France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Belgium and Holland.

I'm not sure exactly when Edwina and Charles returned from their trip, but their first son, Charles Colden Jr, was born in Evanston 04 Oct 1926. Their second son, Stanley Christopher, was also in Evanston, on 30 Apr 1929.

The 1930 US Census found the family in Lake Forest, Lake County, Illinois, at 44 East Atteridge Road. Charles was working as a steel salesman.

Sometime between 1930 and 1939 - probably between 1935 and 1939 - Edwina and Charles divorced. (Both were still living in Lake Forest as of 1935, while Charles' next wife was living in Minneapolis at that time.) Charles married Evelyn Jacobson in Chicago 12 Aug 1939. This time the honeymoon cruise was in Bermuda.

By 1940 Evelyn and Charles had moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana. Edwina and the two boys were still living in Lake Forest, although now at 442 Illinois Road.

Evelyn's father Stanley died in 1941. It appears that at some point after that, Mary Frances sold the family home at 4408 Warwick Boulevard and moved to 1215 West 59th Street and that Edwina (and her sons?) moved in with her. This is the address given for both Mary Frances and Edwina on Edwina's death certificate. She died 04 Apr 1946 of ovarian cancer. She's buried in Mount Washington Cemetery in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri.

Charles Colden Searles Sr died 12 Jul 1978 in Petoskey, Emmet County, Michigan. He's buried in the Lakeview Cemetery in Harbor Springs, Emmet County, with his mother, sister and second wife.

Charles Colden Searles Jr

Charles Colden Searles Jr graduated from the Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, in 1945. (His father was a member of the Class of 1920). He enlisted in the US Army on 24 Jul 1945 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas but was separated from service 26 Dec 1946 at Fort Sheridan in Lake County, Illinois. The term "separation" in this context suggests that he was leaving active duty but was not necessarily leaving military service entirely.

Charles married Barbara Ann Smith in Kansas City 14 Jan 1956. Barbara Ann had been born in Kansas City 26 Jun 1931, the daughter of Faye Rice and Frederick Harold Smith. The marriage didn't work out. The Olathe KS News published 18 Feb 1960 reported that Barbara had filed for divorce.

Charles' next wife was Rosemary Kathleen England Stafford. They married 17 Jan 1964 in Jackson County, probably in Kansas City. Rosemary was the daughter of Phyllis Irene Cook and Edward Claude J England born 30 Aug 1930 in Norwich, Norfolk County, England. She may or may not be the Rosemary K England whose marriage to Joseph O Swafford was registered in Thanet, Kent, in Jul-Sep 1952. That Joseph O Swafford may or may not be the Joseph O Swafford who was born in Richmond, Missouri, 15 Jun 1925, and who already had at least two children when he married Roma Sue Finson 01 Aug 1957.

The Kansas City Star published 29 Nov 1964 reported that "Mr. and Mrs. Charles C. Searles, jr., of Prairie Village have as guests Mrs. Searles's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Edward C. J. England, who arrived Tuesday from their home in Sheringham, England. They will be in Kansas City three months." Prairie Village, Kansas, lies on the Kansas/Missouri state line 15 km SSW of Kansas City, Missouri. Sheringham is 39 km NNW of Norwich.

The Fall 1992 issue of the Andover Bulletin published by the Phillips Academy reported the death of Charles C Searles, Jr, of Kansas City, Missouri, but did not supply a date of death.

Barbara Ann Smith married Herbert Henry Ferris Jr in San Diego City, California, on 30 Dec 1966. She died in La Jolla 26 Mar 2014.

Rosemary may or may not be the Rosemary Lavat born 30 Aug 1930 who registerered with the US Social Security system in Kansas and who died in March 1980. That Rosemary's husband may or may not have been Eugene Woodward Lavat (26 Sep 1925 - 02 Sep 2010).

Stanley Christopher Searles

The Kansas City Star reported 13 Jul 1952 that, "Mr. and Mrs. L. C. Melling of Lancashire, England, announce the marriage of their daughter Barbara to Staff Sergt. Stanley C. Searles, grandson of Stanley Christopher. The ceremony took place at the home of the bride's parents. The couple left for a 3-week motor trip through Ireland. Sergeant Searles is stationed at Bretton Wood, near Liverpool, England." The marriage was registered in Barton, Lancashire.

On 01 Feb 1954, S/Sgt Stanley Searles and Mrs Barbara Searles, age 20, arrived at Idlewild Airport, New York, aboard a Pan Am flight from Prestwick, Scotland.

Barbara and Stanley had three children born 1956-1961: Stanley Christopher Jr, Edwina and Ann Elizabeth. (Note that the name Edwin(a) was now heading into its fifth generation, the first being Edwin Ross Hearn.) Stanley's obituary reported that he "opened one of the first Dairy Queens in Omaha, Nebraska." However, the marriage didn't work out. On 21 Dec 1961 the Omaha World Herald published a notice that Stanley had been granted a divorce from Barbara.

On 03 Nov 1962 Stanley married Ruth Ann Cantril, the daughter of Ruth and Myron Cantril born in Iowa 08 Aug 1944. Again from Stanley's obituary: "He and wife Ruth [opened] their first restaurant, Chicken Burger, which was ran [sic] by himself, Ruth and his mother-in-law whom he lovingly called Mrs. C."

Ruth and Stanley had two more children born 1963-1966, Mary Ruth and Jay Myron. The family eventually moved from Nebraska to Arizona, where Stanley ran first an employment agency and then an insurance agency He died in Arizona 10 Jun 2006, survived by Rutn, all five of his children and 20 grandchildren.

Barbara married Stanley R Rosen in Las Vegas 31 Dec 2013. Stanley Rosen died not quite five years later on 16 Aug 2018. His obituary mentions his stepdaughters Edwina and Ann but not his stepson Stanley Christopher Searles Jr. It might be that stepson Stanley was no longer living by then, or it might be that the two Stanleys simply didn't get along.