Lionel Barry's cremated remains were never taken after his death and are still available at Oregon State Hospital to be claimed by anyone who is related. The Oregon List of Unclaimed Cremains shows his name as Lionell (with 2 final Ls), but his death certificate and census records show his name as Lionel which is the common spelling. The spelling LIONEL will be used here. He was born on 1/8/1914 in Redding, Shasta County in northern California. His parents were Edmund Howard Barry & Amanda “May” Cuppy.
First, it is useful to understand his mother’s history. May was born in Kansas in 1876 to Elizabeth Sears & Francis Cuppy. The family moved from Kansas to Hood River in north central Oregon in the late 1870s. She had several siblings among whom were a brother and sister who were twins. This is only of interest because May herself would later have twins as would her sister Della.
May was married 3 or 4 times. It is uncertain how many were legal marriages, but she had at least 14 children with at least 4 men. At the age of 13 she was first married on 10/12/1889 to 29 year old Joseph Christopher Stewart who was born in California in 1860. She had 7 children from that marriage. These half-siblings of Lionel’s were: William “Edward” Stewart (born in 1891), Joseph C. Stewart, Jr. (1893), John Wordloe Stewart (1895), Marion C. Stewart (1897), Clyde David Stewart (1898), Margaret M. Stewart (1899) and Yondie Stewart (about 1901). The first three were born in Oregon and the younger four were born in California. During the 1900 census, May and her first family were living in Shasta County, California where her husband was a day laborer.
About 1902-3 Joseph went to Alaska by himself to work as a miner. According to May, he “dropped into oblivion.” Later she was told he had died. She married Warren A. Owens. About December 1903 she and Warren had twins, Elmer and Warren Delmer Owens. In 1905 she started seeing a man named Jack Lushness/Leischner. They had a daughter, Maude Lushness/Leischner, about September 1905. Around that time Joseph Stewart resurfaced, alive and well. He didn’t strongly object to her new marriage, instead he and May just went their separate ways.
On 11/23/1905 May left a note for her new husband. It said: “Dear Warren, When you get this note I will be cold in death.” She took all her clothing, her baby Maude, and $2 with her. She left the baby with Jack, the child’s father. When Warren found the note he put the other children in the care of neighbors and worked with the police to search for May. The police felt it was unlikely she had committed suicide and felt she was just being melodramatic.
At some point May reappeared. Warren left her. The Stewart children were sent to the Indian boarding school in Carson, Nevada. Their father, Joseph Stewart said they “had Indian blood in them and were entitled to be there.” May was said to be 1/2 Cherokee, although there is no indication that was true. The twins and Maude stayed with May who moved back in with Jack Lushness/Leischner.
Meanwhile, a year later in December 1906 May was in the midst of three simultaneous relationships. She was living with Jack. At the same time Joseph Stewart started discussions with May and her mother suggesting May return to living with him. The sticking point was that he was not willing to support the children who were not his (the twins and Maude). He suggested they be put in a Catholic orphanage in Oakland, California. At the same time May had begun a relationship with Edmund Howard Barry (Lionel’s father) who she would later marry.
A few days later, on 1/1/1907 at 3 PM the house that May shared with Jack and her three youngest children burned down. The children died. A coroner’s inquest was held. Witnesses testified that 30 minutes before the fire was first seen, May had left the twins (age 3) and Maude (age 1) alone in the one room house while she visited a neighbor who was living about 200 feet away. Fifteen minutes later May’s mother stopped by May’s house, gave the children apples and candy, left them sitting on the floor, locked the door and joined May at the neighbor’s. Five to ten minutes later the fire broke out. Efforts were made by May and others to reach the children but the flamed quickly consumed the house. During the investigation it was suggested the fire was due to negligence. Much was discussed about the children’s easy access to coal oil, matches, and lamp oil. However many members of the community strongly suspected May’s mother had killed the children and set the fire. A witness testified “the time that elapsed was not sufficient for a fire to gain such headway if started by ordinary means. “ Autopsies were performed to determine if the children died before the fire and if there were narcotics in their stomachs. In the end, the coroner’s inquest ruled their deaths were accidental, but May and her mother were said to be “almost criminally careless.” Two and a half months later Joseph Stewart died in March 1907. The circumstances of his death were unknown. On 4/13/1907 May had another child she named Leroy Stewart. It is not known if Joseph was his father or not. Leroy was adopted by May’s sister Dora (Cuppy) Craig and his name was changed to James Roy Craig.
Before the three children died May started seeing Edmund Howard Barry (Lionel’s father), a restaurant cook. He was born in 1878 in London, England. In the 1910 census (before Lionel was born) May, Edmund, Sr. and their infant son Edmund, Jr. were living in Redding, California. None of the 8 Stewart children were with the Barry family. On the 1910 census May & Edmund reported they had gotten married in 1907 and that it was her second marriage. Lionel was the middle child of their three children. His full siblings (both born in California) were: Edmund Howard Barry, Jr. (born in 1909) and Clara Barry (in 1918). Perhaps May & Edmund never married or they divorced at some point, because in 1918 she was living in Portland, Oregon, using the name Stewart again. They married (or re-married) in Portland in November 1918 at which time May was living in Portland and Edmund was in Redding.
In 1910 at least 3 of May’s children (Clyde, Yondie, and Marion) were still at the Indian school in Nevada. May’s sons Leroy/James (age 3) and John (13) were living in Hermosa, Colorado with May’s sister Dora (Cuppy) Craig, who later adopted James. (He was named James for his adoptive father, James S. Craig).
During the census of 1920, Lionel and his family were living in Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon where his father was a cook in a camp. Also in the home were May’s sons Edward and Clyde Stewart. Lionel was 5 years old at that time. While most other 5 year olds in his neighborhood were attending school, Lionel was not. He reportedly had a cognitive disability from birth which may explain why he was not in school. By the mid-1920s Lionel and his family were living in and near Eugene, Lane County, Oregon.
On 7/20/1927 from Lane County, Lionel was admitted to the Oregon State Institution for the Feeble-Minded, a quasi-educational institution in Salem, Oregon charged with educating people with developmental disabilities. In 1933 the facility was renamed Oregon Fairview Home and it was closed in 2000. Lionel lived at Fairview for 11 1/2 years. During that time his parents returned to California. By the time of the 1930 census, Lionel's parents and siblings were back in Redding. Lionel's father was a cook in a mining camp.
The 1930 census listed Lionel at the institution. It was said he was 16 and unable to read or write, but could speak. Lionel lived at the Oregon institution until his death on 1/28/1939 at the age of 25. It was reported that at the age of 21, after having been a patient at the Fairview Home for 7 years, Lionel showed signs of "spastic paraplegia." This was listed as the cause of his death. This may have referred to Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP), a progressive condition that has symptoms that can begin in adulthood. HSP is not a form of cerebral palsy even though it physically appears and behaves much the same. He was also said to have been suffering from years of malnutrition. After he died, his body was transported to the nearby Oregon State (Psychiatric) Hospital where he was cremated and where his ashes are still being held.
In 1940 (a year after Lionel's death) his parents were listed in the census in Humboldt County in northern California with their son Edmund, daughter-in-law Erma, and 4 year old grandson Edmund.
Lionel’s parents both died in Crannell, California on the same day - 6/8/1965. It would seem there is a story behind that, but I haven’t been about to discover it yet. They were buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Arcata, California.
Lionel’s sister Clara married George Waley on 10/5/1936 in Washington. They had 3 children. In the 1940s she married Albert E Annis and they had 2 children. On 4/3/1958 she married Rex T Bellmore. On 1/31/1974 Clara (Barry) Bellmore died of heart problems at the age of 55 and was buried at Park Hill Cemetery in Vancouver, Washington.
On 6/2/1930 Lionel’s brother, Edmund, married Erma Lorraine Longmire in Lane County, Oregon. He died on 10/11/1987 in Portland and was buried at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, Oregon. His son Edmund died on 9/11/2017.
It seems none of Lionel’s half-siblings survived their mother. If they did, they were not acknowledged in her obituary as surviving children. Lionel’s half-brother William Edward Stewart, a time keeper for a lumber company, died of a hemorrhage following surgery for an ulcer in 1925 in Silverton, Oregon. Lionel’s half-brother Clyde died on 2/3/1947 in Oregon and was buried in Portland. Lionel’s half-brother Leroy Stewart/James Roy Craig was the only one of the Stewart children who was known to have children. It is not known what became of him or Lionel’s other Stewart siblings.
More information about the 3500 unclaimed cremains at OSH is available at http://www.oregon.gov/oha/amh/osh/pages/cremains.aspx A book by David Maisel and a documentary by Ondi Timoner & Robert James, both entitled "Library of Dust" also provide more information.
First, it is useful to understand his mother’s history. May was born in Kansas in 1876 to Elizabeth Sears & Francis Cuppy. The family moved from Kansas to Hood River in north central Oregon in the late 1870s. She had several siblings among whom were a brother and sister who were twins. This is only of interest because May herself would later have twins as would her sister Della.
May was married 3 or 4 times. It is uncertain how many were legal marriages, but she had at least 14 children with at least 4 men. At the age of 13 she was first married on 10/12/1889 to 29 year old Joseph Christopher Stewart who was born in California in 1860. She had 7 children from that marriage. These half-siblings of Lionel’s were: William “Edward” Stewart (born in 1891), Joseph C. Stewart, Jr. (1893), John Wordloe Stewart (1895), Marion C. Stewart (1897), Clyde David Stewart (1898), Margaret M. Stewart (1899) and Yondie Stewart (about 1901). The first three were born in Oregon and the younger four were born in California. During the 1900 census, May and her first family were living in Shasta County, California where her husband was a day laborer.
About 1902-3 Joseph went to Alaska by himself to work as a miner. According to May, he “dropped into oblivion.” Later she was told he had died. She married Warren A. Owens. About December 1903 she and Warren had twins, Elmer and Warren Delmer Owens. In 1905 she started seeing a man named Jack Lushness/Leischner. They had a daughter, Maude Lushness/Leischner, about September 1905. Around that time Joseph Stewart resurfaced, alive and well. He didn’t strongly object to her new marriage, instead he and May just went their separate ways.
On 11/23/1905 May left a note for her new husband. It said: “Dear Warren, When you get this note I will be cold in death.” She took all her clothing, her baby Maude, and $2 with her. She left the baby with Jack, the child’s father. When Warren found the note he put the other children in the care of neighbors and worked with the police to search for May. The police felt it was unlikely she had committed suicide and felt she was just being melodramatic.
At some point May reappeared. Warren left her. The Stewart children were sent to the Indian boarding school in Carson, Nevada. Their father, Joseph Stewart said they “had Indian blood in them and were entitled to be there.” May was said to be 1/2 Cherokee, although there is no indication that was true. The twins and Maude stayed with May who moved back in with Jack Lushness/Leischner.
Meanwhile, a year later in December 1906 May was in the midst of three simultaneous relationships. She was living with Jack. At the same time Joseph Stewart started discussions with May and her mother suggesting May return to living with him. The sticking point was that he was not willing to support the children who were not his (the twins and Maude). He suggested they be put in a Catholic orphanage in Oakland, California. At the same time May had begun a relationship with Edmund Howard Barry (Lionel’s father) who she would later marry.
A few days later, on 1/1/1907 at 3 PM the house that May shared with Jack and her three youngest children burned down. The children died. A coroner’s inquest was held. Witnesses testified that 30 minutes before the fire was first seen, May had left the twins (age 3) and Maude (age 1) alone in the one room house while she visited a neighbor who was living about 200 feet away. Fifteen minutes later May’s mother stopped by May’s house, gave the children apples and candy, left them sitting on the floor, locked the door and joined May at the neighbor’s. Five to ten minutes later the fire broke out. Efforts were made by May and others to reach the children but the flamed quickly consumed the house. During the investigation it was suggested the fire was due to negligence. Much was discussed about the children’s easy access to coal oil, matches, and lamp oil. However many members of the community strongly suspected May’s mother had killed the children and set the fire. A witness testified “the time that elapsed was not sufficient for a fire to gain such headway if started by ordinary means. “ Autopsies were performed to determine if the children died before the fire and if there were narcotics in their stomachs. In the end, the coroner’s inquest ruled their deaths were accidental, but May and her mother were said to be “almost criminally careless.” Two and a half months later Joseph Stewart died in March 1907. The circumstances of his death were unknown. On 4/13/1907 May had another child she named Leroy Stewart. It is not known if Joseph was his father or not. Leroy was adopted by May’s sister Dora (Cuppy) Craig and his name was changed to James Roy Craig.
Before the three children died May started seeing Edmund Howard Barry (Lionel’s father), a restaurant cook. He was born in 1878 in London, England. In the 1910 census (before Lionel was born) May, Edmund, Sr. and their infant son Edmund, Jr. were living in Redding, California. None of the 8 Stewart children were with the Barry family. On the 1910 census May & Edmund reported they had gotten married in 1907 and that it was her second marriage. Lionel was the middle child of their three children. His full siblings (both born in California) were: Edmund Howard Barry, Jr. (born in 1909) and Clara Barry (in 1918). Perhaps May & Edmund never married or they divorced at some point, because in 1918 she was living in Portland, Oregon, using the name Stewart again. They married (or re-married) in Portland in November 1918 at which time May was living in Portland and Edmund was in Redding.
In 1910 at least 3 of May’s children (Clyde, Yondie, and Marion) were still at the Indian school in Nevada. May’s sons Leroy/James (age 3) and John (13) were living in Hermosa, Colorado with May’s sister Dora (Cuppy) Craig, who later adopted James. (He was named James for his adoptive father, James S. Craig).
During the census of 1920, Lionel and his family were living in Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon where his father was a cook in a camp. Also in the home were May’s sons Edward and Clyde Stewart. Lionel was 5 years old at that time. While most other 5 year olds in his neighborhood were attending school, Lionel was not. He reportedly had a cognitive disability from birth which may explain why he was not in school. By the mid-1920s Lionel and his family were living in and near Eugene, Lane County, Oregon.
On 7/20/1927 from Lane County, Lionel was admitted to the Oregon State Institution for the Feeble-Minded, a quasi-educational institution in Salem, Oregon charged with educating people with developmental disabilities. In 1933 the facility was renamed Oregon Fairview Home and it was closed in 2000. Lionel lived at Fairview for 11 1/2 years. During that time his parents returned to California. By the time of the 1930 census, Lionel's parents and siblings were back in Redding. Lionel's father was a cook in a mining camp.
The 1930 census listed Lionel at the institution. It was said he was 16 and unable to read or write, but could speak. Lionel lived at the Oregon institution until his death on 1/28/1939 at the age of 25. It was reported that at the age of 21, after having been a patient at the Fairview Home for 7 years, Lionel showed signs of "spastic paraplegia." This was listed as the cause of his death. This may have referred to Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP), a progressive condition that has symptoms that can begin in adulthood. HSP is not a form of cerebral palsy even though it physically appears and behaves much the same. He was also said to have been suffering from years of malnutrition. After he died, his body was transported to the nearby Oregon State (Psychiatric) Hospital where he was cremated and where his ashes are still being held.
In 1940 (a year after Lionel's death) his parents were listed in the census in Humboldt County in northern California with their son Edmund, daughter-in-law Erma, and 4 year old grandson Edmund.
Lionel’s parents both died in Crannell, California on the same day - 6/8/1965. It would seem there is a story behind that, but I haven’t been about to discover it yet. They were buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Arcata, California.
Lionel’s sister Clara married George Waley on 10/5/1936 in Washington. They had 3 children. In the 1940s she married Albert E Annis and they had 2 children. On 4/3/1958 she married Rex T Bellmore. On 1/31/1974 Clara (Barry) Bellmore died of heart problems at the age of 55 and was buried at Park Hill Cemetery in Vancouver, Washington.
On 6/2/1930 Lionel’s brother, Edmund, married Erma Lorraine Longmire in Lane County, Oregon. He died on 10/11/1987 in Portland and was buried at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, Oregon. His son Edmund died on 9/11/2017.
It seems none of Lionel’s half-siblings survived their mother. If they did, they were not acknowledged in her obituary as surviving children. Lionel’s half-brother William Edward Stewart, a time keeper for a lumber company, died of a hemorrhage following surgery for an ulcer in 1925 in Silverton, Oregon. Lionel’s half-brother Clyde died on 2/3/1947 in Oregon and was buried in Portland. Lionel’s half-brother Leroy Stewart/James Roy Craig was the only one of the Stewart children who was known to have children. It is not known what became of him or Lionel’s other Stewart siblings.
More information about the 3500 unclaimed cremains at OSH is available at http://www.oregon.gov/oha/amh/osh/pages/cremains.aspx A book by David Maisel and a documentary by Ondi Timoner & Robert James, both entitled "Library of Dust" also provide more information.
Lionel Barry's cremated remains were never taken after his death and are still available at Oregon State Hospital to be claimed by anyone who is related. The Oregon List of Unclaimed Cremains shows his name as Lionell (with 2 final Ls), but his death certificate and census records show his name as Lionel which is the common spelling. The spelling LIONEL will be used here. He was born on 1/8/1914 in Redding, Shasta County in northern California. His parents were Edmund Howard Barry & Amanda “May” Cuppy.
First, it is useful to understand his mother’s history. May was born in Kansas in 1876 to Elizabeth Sears & Francis Cuppy. The family moved from Kansas to Hood River in north central Oregon in the late 1870s. She had several siblings among whom were a brother and sister who were twins. This is only of interest because May herself would later have twins as would her sister Della.
May was married 3 or 4 times. It is uncertain how many were legal marriages, but she had at least 14 children with at least 4 men. At the age of 13 she was first married on 10/12/1889 to 29 year old Joseph Christopher Stewart who was born in California in 1860. She had 7 children from that marriage. These half-siblings of Lionel’s were: William “Edward” Stewart (born in 1891), Joseph C. Stewart, Jr. (1893), John Wordloe Stewart (1895), Marion C. Stewart (1897), Clyde David Stewart (1898), Margaret M. Stewart (1899) and Yondie Stewart (about 1901). The first three were born in Oregon and the younger four were born in California. During the 1900 census, May and her first family were living in Shasta County, California where her husband was a day laborer.
About 1902-3 Joseph went to Alaska by himself to work as a miner. According to May, he “dropped into oblivion.” Later she was told he had died. She married Warren A. Owens. About December 1903 she and Warren had twins, Elmer and Warren Delmer Owens. In 1905 she started seeing a man named Jack Lushness/Leischner. They had a daughter, Maude Lushness/Leischner, about September 1905. Around that time Joseph Stewart resurfaced, alive and well. He didn’t strongly object to her new marriage, instead he and May just went their separate ways.
On 11/23/1905 May left a note for her new husband. It said: “Dear Warren, When you get this note I will be cold in death.” She took all her clothing, her baby Maude, and $2 with her. She left the baby with Jack, the child’s father. When Warren found the note he put the other children in the care of neighbors and worked with the police to search for May. The police felt it was unlikely she had committed suicide and felt she was just being melodramatic.
At some point May reappeared. Warren left her. The Stewart children were sent to the Indian boarding school in Carson, Nevada. Their father, Joseph Stewart said they “had Indian blood in them and were entitled to be there.” May was said to be 1/2 Cherokee, although there is no indication that was true. The twins and Maude stayed with May who moved back in with Jack Lushness/Leischner.
Meanwhile, a year later in December 1906 May was in the midst of three simultaneous relationships. She was living with Jack. At the same time Joseph Stewart started discussions with May and her mother suggesting May return to living with him. The sticking point was that he was not willing to support the children who were not his (the twins and Maude). He suggested they be put in a Catholic orphanage in Oakland, California. At the same time May had begun a relationship with Edmund Howard Barry (Lionel’s father) who she would later marry.
A few days later, on 1/1/1907 at 3 PM the house that May shared with Jack and her three youngest children burned down. The children died. A coroner’s inquest was held. Witnesses testified that 30 minutes before the fire was first seen, May had left the twins (age 3) and Maude (age 1) alone in the one room house while she visited a neighbor who was living about 200 feet away. Fifteen minutes later May’s mother stopped by May’s house, gave the children apples and candy, left them sitting on the floor, locked the door and joined May at the neighbor’s. Five to ten minutes later the fire broke out. Efforts were made by May and others to reach the children but the flamed quickly consumed the house. During the investigation it was suggested the fire was due to negligence. Much was discussed about the children’s easy access to coal oil, matches, and lamp oil. However many members of the community strongly suspected May’s mother had killed the children and set the fire. A witness testified “the time that elapsed was not sufficient for a fire to gain such headway if started by ordinary means. “ Autopsies were performed to determine if the children died before the fire and if there were narcotics in their stomachs. In the end, the coroner’s inquest ruled their deaths were accidental, but May and her mother were said to be “almost criminally careless.” Two and a half months later Joseph Stewart died in March 1907. The circumstances of his death were unknown. On 4/13/1907 May had another child she named Leroy Stewart. It is not known if Joseph was his father or not. Leroy was adopted by May’s sister Dora (Cuppy) Craig and his name was changed to James Roy Craig.
Before the three children died May started seeing Edmund Howard Barry (Lionel’s father), a restaurant cook. He was born in 1878 in London, England. In the 1910 census (before Lionel was born) May, Edmund, Sr. and their infant son Edmund, Jr. were living in Redding, California. None of the 8 Stewart children were with the Barry family. On the 1910 census May & Edmund reported they had gotten married in 1907 and that it was her second marriage. Lionel was the middle child of their three children. His full siblings (both born in California) were: Edmund Howard Barry, Jr. (born in 1909) and Clara Barry (in 1918). Perhaps May & Edmund never married or they divorced at some point, because in 1918 she was living in Portland, Oregon, using the name Stewart again. They married (or re-married) in Portland in November 1918 at which time May was living in Portland and Edmund was in Redding.
In 1910 at least 3 of May’s children (Clyde, Yondie, and Marion) were still at the Indian school in Nevada. May’s sons Leroy/James (age 3) and John (13) were living in Hermosa, Colorado with May’s sister Dora (Cuppy) Craig, who later adopted James. (He was named James for his adoptive father, James S. Craig).
During the census of 1920, Lionel and his family were living in Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon where his father was a cook in a camp. Also in the home were May’s sons Edward and Clyde Stewart. Lionel was 5 years old at that time. While most other 5 year olds in his neighborhood were attending school, Lionel was not. He reportedly had a cognitive disability from birth which may explain why he was not in school. By the mid-1920s Lionel and his family were living in and near Eugene, Lane County, Oregon.
On 7/20/1927 from Lane County, Lionel was admitted to the Oregon State Institution for the Feeble-Minded, a quasi-educational institution in Salem, Oregon charged with educating people with developmental disabilities. In 1933 the facility was renamed Oregon Fairview Home and it was closed in 2000. Lionel lived at Fairview for 11 1/2 years. During that time his parents returned to California. By the time of the 1930 census, Lionel's parents and siblings were back in Redding. Lionel's father was a cook in a mining camp.
The 1930 census listed Lionel at the institution. It was said he was 16 and unable to read or write, but could speak. Lionel lived at the Oregon institution until his death on 1/28/1939 at the age of 25. It was reported that at the age of 21, after having been a patient at the Fairview Home for 7 years, Lionel showed signs of "spastic paraplegia." This was listed as the cause of his death. This may have referred to Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP), a progressive condition that has symptoms that can begin in adulthood. HSP is not a form of cerebral palsy even though it physically appears and behaves much the same. He was also said to have been suffering from years of malnutrition. After he died, his body was transported to the nearby Oregon State (Psychiatric) Hospital where he was cremated and where his ashes are still being held.
In 1940 (a year after Lionel's death) his parents were listed in the census in Humboldt County in northern California with their son Edmund, daughter-in-law Erma, and 4 year old grandson Edmund.
Lionel’s parents both died in Crannell, California on the same day - 6/8/1965. It would seem there is a story behind that, but I haven’t been about to discover it yet. They were buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Arcata, California.
Lionel’s sister Clara married George Waley on 10/5/1936 in Washington. They had 3 children. In the 1940s she married Albert E Annis and they had 2 children. On 4/3/1958 she married Rex T Bellmore. On 1/31/1974 Clara (Barry) Bellmore died of heart problems at the age of 55 and was buried at Park Hill Cemetery in Vancouver, Washington.
On 6/2/1930 Lionel’s brother, Edmund, married Erma Lorraine Longmire in Lane County, Oregon. He died on 10/11/1987 in Portland and was buried at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, Oregon. His son Edmund died on 9/11/2017.
It seems none of Lionel’s half-siblings survived their mother. If they did, they were not acknowledged in her obituary as surviving children. Lionel’s half-brother William Edward Stewart, a time keeper for a lumber company, died of a hemorrhage following surgery for an ulcer in 1925 in Silverton, Oregon. Lionel’s half-brother Clyde died on 2/3/1947 in Oregon and was buried in Portland. Lionel’s half-brother Leroy Stewart/James Roy Craig was the only one of the Stewart children who was known to have children. It is not known what became of him or Lionel’s other Stewart siblings.
More information about the 3500 unclaimed cremains at OSH is available at http://www.oregon.gov/oha/amh/osh/pages/cremains.aspx A book by David Maisel and a documentary by Ondi Timoner & Robert James, both entitled "Library of Dust" also provide more information.
First, it is useful to understand his mother’s history. May was born in Kansas in 1876 to Elizabeth Sears & Francis Cuppy. The family moved from Kansas to Hood River in north central Oregon in the late 1870s. She had several siblings among whom were a brother and sister who were twins. This is only of interest because May herself would later have twins as would her sister Della.
May was married 3 or 4 times. It is uncertain how many were legal marriages, but she had at least 14 children with at least 4 men. At the age of 13 she was first married on 10/12/1889 to 29 year old Joseph Christopher Stewart who was born in California in 1860. She had 7 children from that marriage. These half-siblings of Lionel’s were: William “Edward” Stewart (born in 1891), Joseph C. Stewart, Jr. (1893), John Wordloe Stewart (1895), Marion C. Stewart (1897), Clyde David Stewart (1898), Margaret M. Stewart (1899) and Yondie Stewart (about 1901). The first three were born in Oregon and the younger four were born in California. During the 1900 census, May and her first family were living in Shasta County, California where her husband was a day laborer.
About 1902-3 Joseph went to Alaska by himself to work as a miner. According to May, he “dropped into oblivion.” Later she was told he had died. She married Warren A. Owens. About December 1903 she and Warren had twins, Elmer and Warren Delmer Owens. In 1905 she started seeing a man named Jack Lushness/Leischner. They had a daughter, Maude Lushness/Leischner, about September 1905. Around that time Joseph Stewart resurfaced, alive and well. He didn’t strongly object to her new marriage, instead he and May just went their separate ways.
On 11/23/1905 May left a note for her new husband. It said: “Dear Warren, When you get this note I will be cold in death.” She took all her clothing, her baby Maude, and $2 with her. She left the baby with Jack, the child’s father. When Warren found the note he put the other children in the care of neighbors and worked with the police to search for May. The police felt it was unlikely she had committed suicide and felt she was just being melodramatic.
At some point May reappeared. Warren left her. The Stewart children were sent to the Indian boarding school in Carson, Nevada. Their father, Joseph Stewart said they “had Indian blood in them and were entitled to be there.” May was said to be 1/2 Cherokee, although there is no indication that was true. The twins and Maude stayed with May who moved back in with Jack Lushness/Leischner.
Meanwhile, a year later in December 1906 May was in the midst of three simultaneous relationships. She was living with Jack. At the same time Joseph Stewart started discussions with May and her mother suggesting May return to living with him. The sticking point was that he was not willing to support the children who were not his (the twins and Maude). He suggested they be put in a Catholic orphanage in Oakland, California. At the same time May had begun a relationship with Edmund Howard Barry (Lionel’s father) who she would later marry.
A few days later, on 1/1/1907 at 3 PM the house that May shared with Jack and her three youngest children burned down. The children died. A coroner’s inquest was held. Witnesses testified that 30 minutes before the fire was first seen, May had left the twins (age 3) and Maude (age 1) alone in the one room house while she visited a neighbor who was living about 200 feet away. Fifteen minutes later May’s mother stopped by May’s house, gave the children apples and candy, left them sitting on the floor, locked the door and joined May at the neighbor’s. Five to ten minutes later the fire broke out. Efforts were made by May and others to reach the children but the flamed quickly consumed the house. During the investigation it was suggested the fire was due to negligence. Much was discussed about the children’s easy access to coal oil, matches, and lamp oil. However many members of the community strongly suspected May’s mother had killed the children and set the fire. A witness testified “the time that elapsed was not sufficient for a fire to gain such headway if started by ordinary means. “ Autopsies were performed to determine if the children died before the fire and if there were narcotics in their stomachs. In the end, the coroner’s inquest ruled their deaths were accidental, but May and her mother were said to be “almost criminally careless.” Two and a half months later Joseph Stewart died in March 1907. The circumstances of his death were unknown. On 4/13/1907 May had another child she named Leroy Stewart. It is not known if Joseph was his father or not. Leroy was adopted by May’s sister Dora (Cuppy) Craig and his name was changed to James Roy Craig.
Before the three children died May started seeing Edmund Howard Barry (Lionel’s father), a restaurant cook. He was born in 1878 in London, England. In the 1910 census (before Lionel was born) May, Edmund, Sr. and their infant son Edmund, Jr. were living in Redding, California. None of the 8 Stewart children were with the Barry family. On the 1910 census May & Edmund reported they had gotten married in 1907 and that it was her second marriage. Lionel was the middle child of their three children. His full siblings (both born in California) were: Edmund Howard Barry, Jr. (born in 1909) and Clara Barry (in 1918). Perhaps May & Edmund never married or they divorced at some point, because in 1918 she was living in Portland, Oregon, using the name Stewart again. They married (or re-married) in Portland in November 1918 at which time May was living in Portland and Edmund was in Redding.
In 1910 at least 3 of May’s children (Clyde, Yondie, and Marion) were still at the Indian school in Nevada. May’s sons Leroy/James (age 3) and John (13) were living in Hermosa, Colorado with May’s sister Dora (Cuppy) Craig, who later adopted James. (He was named James for his adoptive father, James S. Craig).
During the census of 1920, Lionel and his family were living in Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon where his father was a cook in a camp. Also in the home were May’s sons Edward and Clyde Stewart. Lionel was 5 years old at that time. While most other 5 year olds in his neighborhood were attending school, Lionel was not. He reportedly had a cognitive disability from birth which may explain why he was not in school. By the mid-1920s Lionel and his family were living in and near Eugene, Lane County, Oregon.
On 7/20/1927 from Lane County, Lionel was admitted to the Oregon State Institution for the Feeble-Minded, a quasi-educational institution in Salem, Oregon charged with educating people with developmental disabilities. In 1933 the facility was renamed Oregon Fairview Home and it was closed in 2000. Lionel lived at Fairview for 11 1/2 years. During that time his parents returned to California. By the time of the 1930 census, Lionel's parents and siblings were back in Redding. Lionel's father was a cook in a mining camp.
The 1930 census listed Lionel at the institution. It was said he was 16 and unable to read or write, but could speak. Lionel lived at the Oregon institution until his death on 1/28/1939 at the age of 25. It was reported that at the age of 21, after having been a patient at the Fairview Home for 7 years, Lionel showed signs of "spastic paraplegia." This was listed as the cause of his death. This may have referred to Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP), a progressive condition that has symptoms that can begin in adulthood. HSP is not a form of cerebral palsy even though it physically appears and behaves much the same. He was also said to have been suffering from years of malnutrition. After he died, his body was transported to the nearby Oregon State (Psychiatric) Hospital where he was cremated and where his ashes are still being held.
In 1940 (a year after Lionel's death) his parents were listed in the census in Humboldt County in northern California with their son Edmund, daughter-in-law Erma, and 4 year old grandson Edmund.
Lionel’s parents both died in Crannell, California on the same day - 6/8/1965. It would seem there is a story behind that, but I haven’t been about to discover it yet. They were buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Arcata, California.
Lionel’s sister Clara married George Waley on 10/5/1936 in Washington. They had 3 children. In the 1940s she married Albert E Annis and they had 2 children. On 4/3/1958 she married Rex T Bellmore. On 1/31/1974 Clara (Barry) Bellmore died of heart problems at the age of 55 and was buried at Park Hill Cemetery in Vancouver, Washington.
On 6/2/1930 Lionel’s brother, Edmund, married Erma Lorraine Longmire in Lane County, Oregon. He died on 10/11/1987 in Portland and was buried at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, Oregon. His son Edmund died on 9/11/2017.
It seems none of Lionel’s half-siblings survived their mother. If they did, they were not acknowledged in her obituary as surviving children. Lionel’s half-brother William Edward Stewart, a time keeper for a lumber company, died of a hemorrhage following surgery for an ulcer in 1925 in Silverton, Oregon. Lionel’s half-brother Clyde died on 2/3/1947 in Oregon and was buried in Portland. Lionel’s half-brother Leroy Stewart/James Roy Craig was the only one of the Stewart children who was known to have children. It is not known what became of him or Lionel’s other Stewart siblings.
More information about the 3500 unclaimed cremains at OSH is available at http://www.oregon.gov/oha/amh/osh/pages/cremains.aspx A book by David Maisel and a documentary by Ondi Timoner & Robert James, both entitled "Library of Dust" also provide more information.
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