Tuttle, Wilson Shannon, 1901-1946

TUTTLE, SHAFFER, VANTWISK, SPARROW

Posted By: Lydia Lucas - Volunteer (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 20:33:34

From the Sioux County Index (Hull), December 12, 1946:

Mr. C. G. Sawyer accompanied Mrs. Mattie Tuttle of Sheldon to Chicago, by train, Saturday night. Mrs. Tuttle was called to Chicago because of the death, in an automobile accident on Friday, of her only son, Mr. Wilson Tuttle. Mrs. Tuttle remained for a longer stay with her son’s family, but Mr. Sawyer returned to Hull Monday morning.

(No further information on his death was found in Sioux County newspapers.)

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RESEARCH NOTES

He was the son (the only child, apparently) of Boyden and Matlock residents Harry O. and Martha “Mattie” Tuttle, whose obituaries are posted separately.

The Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths Index on Ancestry.com shows him born 4 August 1901 in Boyden, Iowa; parents Harry O. Tuttle and Mattie Schaeffer; died in Worth, Cook County, Illinois, on 6 December 1946, buried in Oakwoods Cemetery, Chicago; occupation, sales engineer; spouse, Dorothy. His FindaGrave.com page has no additional information.

The O’Brien County, Iowa, marriage register for 1919/1920 shows groom Wilson Shannon Tuttle, age 20, resident of Sheldon, a postal clerk, born in Boyden, parents Harry O. Tuttle and Mattie Shaffer; bride Jeanette Van Twisk, age 18, resident of Sheldon, born in Nesen, Holland, parents Chas Van Twisk and Boaf De Gens, married in Sheldon on 16 June 1920. Articles on their marriage in the Boyden Reporter (June 24, 1920) and the Alton Democrat (June 26, 1920) give her father’s name as K. Van Twisk of Sheldon; she has been employed in Dr. H. R. Cochran’s dental office. Tuttle, who has lived most of his life in the Boyden and Matlock areas, came to Sheldon recently to take a position in the post office.

A long article in the Alton Democrat (June 19, 1925) discusses the family’s subsequent history, Wilson’s employment problems, their divorce, a battle between Wilson Tuttle’s parents and Jeanette Tuttle for custody of their daughter Jean Ruth, and the eventual awarding of custody to Jeanette. Other local newspapers covered the story, as well.

His mother’s obituary names his sons Donald Tuttle of Chicago Heights, Illinois, and Wallace Tuttle of Dolton, Illinois.

The 1930 U.S. census for Chicago, Illinois shows Wilson Tuttle, age 28, age at first[?] marriage 24, a mechanical engineer in a machine plant; wife Dorothy, age 22, age at first marriage 18; and son Donald, age 2, father born in Michigan and mother born in Illinois, although Wilson’s birthplace is given as Iowa (is he Dorothy’s son by a first marriage?).

Family tree information on Ancestry.com is inconsistent as to his mother and wife, some giving his wife as Janette Gertrude Van Twist (married 1920) and some as Dorothy B. Sparrow (no marriage date).

The 1940 U.S. census shows Wilson Tuttle, age 31, wife Dorothy (32), and sons Donald (12) and Wallace (8) living in Dallas, Texas; he is a sales engineer for a wholesale machinery company. Although the names are correct, Wilson’s and Dorothy’s ages are about 10 years off.

His World War II draft registration card (Feb. 1942) gives his full name, Wilson Shannon Tuttle, born in Boyden 4 Aug 1901; residence Houston, Texas; employer Link Belt Co.; next of kin Mattie Tuttle; physical description: 5’10”, 156 pounds, light complexion, blue eyes, brown hair.