#133 John William "William" Deffler ( John Blaine "J.B." Deffler◊ • John Deffler◊ )
William was born 23 Jun 1883 in Glencoe, Somerset Co., Pennsylvania. He died 6 Jun 1962 in Riverside, Riverside Co., California. He was buried in Mountain View Cemetery, Beaumont, Riverside Co., California.
In 1900 he is living in Johnstown, Pennsylvania with his parents.
I have not found John on the 1910 Census. On his marriage license in 1912 he is listed an "operator". The 1913 city directory for Johnstown shows him living with his aunt and uncle, the Drumms, and married to Lillian.
According to his World War I draft card, he lived in Girard, Trumbull Co., Ohio and was a mill worker at the Brier Steel Co. in Youngstown, Mahoning Co., Ohio as of 12 Sep 1918. The card lists him as "short, medium build, blue eyes and light hair."
He appears on the 1920 Census for Liberty Twp., Trumbull Co., Ohio as a steel worker and married to Iva.
In 1929, he is living in Reno, Nevada. The Nevada State Journal of 11 Sep 1929 reports that he and a friend, Ed Armstrong, were arrested on suspicion of drunk driving after they crashed their car early in the morning on the Lincoln Highway, killing Arthur Hill, a resident of Fallon.
On the 1930 Census of Portland, Multnomah Co., Oregon, he is a manager with a finance company. Despite living in Reno in 1929, his car was registered in Portland, Oregon from 1928 to 1931 and they appear on the city directories for those years.
In 1937, he again appears in the Nevada State Journal with reports of his divorce from Iva.
So far, I've found no sign of William on the 1940 census. There is a 1957 high school yearbook showing a Clara Deffler as a member of the Senior Honor Society at Roosevelt High School in Portland, Oregon. Assuming she was 18, she would have been born around 1939, a couple years after William's divorce from Iva, so it's possible he was still in Portland and had a child with someone else. There appear to be no other Deffler families in Portland at that time—although there are by the 1960s—so it seems possible.
His World War II draft card, dated 26 Apr 1942, puts him in Sharp Park, San Mateo Co., California. He is working for Bethlehem Steel Company, is 5'2" and weighs 134 pounds with blue eyes and blonde hair.
In 1946 in Redwood City, California William came across a man, Charles H. Kispert, who had taken an overdose of sleeping pills. William found the man's car off the road, backed into a tree. He summoned the police who were able to save Mr. Kispert. Newspaper reports varied on their opinions as to whether it was a suicide attempt or not. Kispert was involved as a witness in the manslaughter trial of a friend's wife. She had shot her husband's alleged lover and her husband had subsequently commited suicide via barbituates very near where Kispert was found.
Family story is that he spent a lot of time out in the Rockies and we know his Social Security Number was issued in Wyoming before 1951.
William married first #67353 Lillian Cecilia McCune.
Relationship notes |
They married 17 Jul 1912 in Ebensburg, Cambria Co., Pennsylvania. |
Other names for Lillian: Lillian Cecilia Deffler.
Lillian was born 7 May 1894 in Johnstown, Cambria Co., Pennsylvania. She died 23 Jun 1914 in Conemaugh, Cambria Co., Pennsylvania from peritonitis following puerperal septicemea. She was buried 25 Jun 1914 in Grandview Cemetery, Johnstown, Cambria Co., Pennsylvania.
She is the daughter of Scott & Cecilia (Menett) McCune.
On her marriage license she is listed as a "clerk".
Comparing her FindAGrave entry to her death certificate, her gravestone lists her burial date, not her death date.
Children of this relationship:
| #67354 | M | i | John Philip Deffler | (28 May 1914–19 Jan 1915) |
William married and divorced second #40371 Iva Ethel Neeley.
Relationship notes |
They married Abt 1916. They divorced 6 Aug 1937 in Reno, Washoe Co., Nevada. |
Other names for Iva: Iva E. Brubaker, Iva Neeley Brubaker, Iva N. Deffler.
Iva was born 11 Jan 1896 in Pennsylvania. She died 14 Jun 1966. She was buried in Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah.
Iva showed a birth date of Abt 1894 on the 1920 Census, but Abt 1900 on the 1930 Census.
On 3 Apr 1941 she married Charles Grover Brubacher in Jackson Co., Missouri using the name Iva N. Deffler. She lists her origin as Pittsburgh, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania but it is not clear if this is her current residence or birthplace. Charles' obituary puts them in Salt Lake City and we find a grave marker that supplies her maiden name.
She served as a delegate at the state convention for the Democratic Party.
"Charles B. Brubaker" , obituary, The Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake City, Utah, 14 Jun 1957, p. D7, col. 2. The title mistakes his middle initial although the body of the obituary does not.
"Court Actions Filed", The Nevada State Journal Reno, Nevada (5 Aug 1937), p. 12.
"Decrees Granted", Nevada State Journal, Reno, Nevada (6 Aug 1937), p. 16.
"Mansfeldt Friend Takes Pill Overdose", The Times, San Mateo, California (23 Jan 1946), p. 1, col. 5.
"Police Probe Kispert Case", The Times, San Mateo, California (24 Jan 1946), p. 10, col. 5.
1900 U.S. Census, Johnstown, Cambria Co., Pennsylvania, Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004, Roll: 1389; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 0131; FHL microfilm: 1241389.
1920 U.S. Census, Liberty Twp., Trumbull Co., Ohio, Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010, Roll: T625_1444; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 304; Image: 136.
1920 U.S. Census, Liberty Twp., Trumbull Co., Ohio, Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010, Roll: T625_1444; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 304; Image: 137.
1930 U.S. Census, Portland, Multnomah Co., Oregon, Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002, Roll: 1952; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 322; Image: 228.0; FHL microfilm: 2341686.
Brubacher-Unknown marriage record, Ancestry.com. Missouri Marriage Records, 1805-2002 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007.
California Death Index 1940-1997, Ancestry.com. California, Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000, Place: Riverside; Date: 6 Jun 1962; Social Security: 520099753.
Deffler-McCune marriage certificate, (17 Jul 1912) Ebensburg, Cambria Co., Pennsylvania, per license #6197, issued by the Clerk of the Orphans' Court, Cambria Co., Pennsylvania.
Iva Brubaker, Number: 529-50-2588, Issue State: Utah; Issue Date: 1955, Ancestry.com. Social Security Death Index [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2011.
Iva Deffler, untitled notice, The Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake City, Utah (23 Aug 1934), p. 19.
Iva Neeley Brubaker, cemetery notes, www.findagrave.com, #45791395.
John Deffler, Number: 520-09-9753; Issue State: Wyoming; Issue Date: Before 1951, Ancestry.com. Social Security Death Index [database on-line]. Provo, Utah, USA. Original data: Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index, Master File. Social Security Administration.
John Deffler, motor vehicle registration, Oregon, Motor Vehicle Registrations, 1911-1946 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
John W Deffler, cemetery notes, www.findagrave.com, #68404881.
John W. Deffler - Lillian Mccune, marriage record, Pennsylvania, Marriage Registers, 1852-1968 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016, Film #001293485.
John William Deffler WW II draft registration card, State Headquarters: California; Microfilm Roll: 603155 (26 Apr 1942), Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
John William Deffler WWI draft registration card, Roll: 1851243; Draft Board: 2; Trumbull Co., Ohio (12 Sep 1918), Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.
Johnstown City Directory 1913, U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
Lillian Cecelia Deffler, death certificate, no. 58166, registered no. 49 (24 Jun 1914), Vital Statistics, Dept. of Health, Pennsylvania.
Lillian Deffler, cemetery notes, www.findagrave.com, #101305502.
Personal recollection of Florence (Powers) Deffler, as related to Tad Deffler.
U.S. School Yearbooks 1880-2012, Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010, Roosevelt High School Ranger 1957.
Line Generation: 3
Relationship: Great-Grand-Uncle