Surname	Shook
Given Name	William F.
Gender	Male
Born	17-AUG-1877 in Texas
Died	02-APR-1943 in Davy, DeWitt County, Texas (Certificate 16870)
Buried	Salt Creek Cemetery, New Davy, DeWitt County, Texas
Father	Phineas Ewing SHOOK (04-OCT-1845 - Aft. 1910)
Mother	Paralee Josephine SOWELL (24-JUN-1852 - 1890)

Family Line

Wiliam F. Shook-> Phineas Ewing Shook (f)-> John Shook (gf)-> Jacob Shook (g-gf)-> Johanne Jacob Shook (gg-gf)-> Johanne Hans George Shook (Schuck) (ggg-gf)-> Johannes Shook (Schuck) (gggg-gf).

William F. Shook is identified as the son of F. L. Shook and Josephine Sewel in his death certificate. That is a pretty close match wtih Phineas Ewing Shook and Paralee Josephine Sowell, but not quite perfect. The 1910 census, however, places his two girls (Opal and Carmel) as the granddaughters of Phineas Ewing Shook. That completes the ties father and son.

Given Name

While the 1900 census records William as William J., all other documents (the marriage record, the 1930 census, the 1940 census, and the death certificate) record William as William F. Unfortunately, none of these records have his middle name. A good assumption would be Finis, as that is how his father's name is [mis]pelled in almost every document.

Birth Date

The 1900 census records William's birth date as AUG-1876, while his death certificate records his birth date as 17-AUG-1877. Either date could be correct. I chose 1877, as I have a preference to birth and death records over the census (jjshook).

Marriages

Marriage 1

04-JAN-1899 in DeWitt County, Texas to May Belle (BURT) Butler; born: APR-1872 in Texas; died: 18-AUG-1906 in Nopal, DeWitt County, Texas (Certificate 15309); father: William BURT (14-DEC-1830 - 13-FEB-1912); mother: Lorena Minerva SILCRIGGS (15-JUN-1835 - 22-MAY-1914); buried: Salt Creek Cemetery, New Davy, DeWitt County, Texas.

Children

• Opal SHOOK; born: NOV-1899 in DeWitt County, Texas
• Carmel Nora SHOOK; born: 10-JAN-1903 in DeWitt County, Texas; died: 21-JAN-1982 in Los Angeles County, California; SSN: 526-03-7199; married: Ralph Henderson BELT (18-JAN-1897 - 06-AUG-1980)

Marriage 2

Lela BUTLER (step-daughter); born: FEB-1892 in Texas; died: After 1943.

Children

• William A. SHOOK; born: 28-FEB-1916 in Pleasanton, Atascosa County, Texas (Certificate 4922); died: 1987 in Yuma County, Arizona married: Eleanor Marie DOWNEY (13-FEB-1915 - 06-JUL-1998); buried: Desert Lawn Memorial Park, Yuma, Yuma County, Arizona
• Thomas Shook; born: ~1920 in California

History

Carmel Nora Shook's death certificate records her mother's maiden name as Burt. William J. Shook married May Belle Butler in 1899 in DeWitt County, Texas, and the 1900 census records William J. and May Bell Shook living in DeWitt County, Texas just a year and a half later. The 1900 census also records Lola Butler as William J. Shook's step-daughter. So a good assumption is that Lola is May Belle's daughter, and that May Belle's full name would be May Belle (Burt) Butler Shook.

While Lela is recorded in the 1900 census (index) as Lola, records strongly suggests her name was Lela. Recorded as the step-daughter of William in the 1900 census, William and Lela show up in the 1920 and 1930 census as husband and wife. Both the 1920 and 1930 census records have Lela's first marriage at age 21. Assuming her birth date (FEB-1892) is correct, the marriage would have been ca. 1913. Two sons followed ca. 1916 and ca. 1920.

While census records place William and Lela getting married ca. 1913, something between May Belle's death in 1906 and the 1910 census caused William's two daughters to move in with their grandfather, Phineas Ewing Shook. By the 1920 census, William and Lela are living in Arizona. By 1940, William and Lela (recorded as Lara) are back in DeWitt County, Texas where William died a few years later.

Notes

There are several family trees on Ancestry.com that record Lela as Lola Angeline (Butler) Canfield (31-JUL-1882 - 06-MAR-1980). The death certificate for this Lola records her father as Newton Green Butler (07-DEC-1858 - 12-MAR-1895) and her mother as Mary (Elder) Butler (JUL-1853 - 06-SEP-1926). Lola Angeline (Butler) Canfield, Newton Green Butler, and Mary (Elder) Butler are all buried in the Floresville City Cemetery, Floresville, Wilson County, Texas. Given the consistency of that information, you can assume Mary (Elder) Butler is the mother of Lola Angeline (Butler) Canfield. Assuming the birth date of APR-1872 for May Belle (BURT) Butler is correct, you can rule out Lola Angeline (Butler) Canfield as the daughter of May Belle (BURT) Butler since May Belle would have only been 10 years old when that Lola was born. The 1900 census records Willam J. Shook's step-daughter, Lola, with a birth date of APR-1892. That would have made May Belle (Burt) Butler about 20 when she had Lola. Much more plausible.