Ora Franklin Haines

With a middle name like “Ora” it’s no wonder my husband has spent a lifetime questioning where this name came from. Though he is well aware that he is named after his grandfather, Ora Franklin Haines (b: 16 Sep 1914 d: 1 Aug 1984). The question is where did Grandfather’s name come from?

Seeking through records in Indiana I found a “Guardianship Report” for Ora Franklin Haines. Though the dates didn’t match up, it was from the same sparsely populated county that our Ora was from. I ordered the record just to see what it was all about. I thought maybe, since maternal death was so common in the late 1800s and early 1900s and diseases were rampant possibly, our Ora was an orphan. I considered this assumption to be paper thin, as I’m sure my husband would have had some sort of an inkling of information about this since our Ora did not pass away until 1984 and Chris has many strong memories of his grandfather.

Once I received the report I noticed that Robert was the guardian of Ora Franklin Haines, deceased and three other minor children, but he stated that he was also their father. It lists Edith as deceased, but does not offer her date of death, or any other names of minor children. The way the report reads, Ora Franklin Haines was an adult, with three minor children at the time of his passing. I investigate further to determine if this Ora is actually father to our ancestor’s and a guardianship report proved misleading as it is listed that Robert & Maggie (Justice) Haines are our direct lineage.

Further investigation led me to an obituary for Ora Franklin Haines, son of Robert and Alice Haines was born August 16, 1876 died Wednesday, February 25, 1891. This obituary appeared in the Tri-County Gazette of Westone, Indiana, on Saturday, March 7, 1891.

As it turns out, Alice was Robert’s first wife; having died when Ora was young, then Ora passed away just 14 and a half years after his birth. According to the obituary he did well in his studies and excelled in school, the thought of him having minor children is now a distant whisper in my mind.

Now, I think it more likely that John Oliver Haines, son of Robert and Maggie (Justice) Haines named his son for his half-brother that passed away so young. I’m still left with the question of who is Edith that is listed in the Guardianship Report. Her death date being left blank has me lost.

My husband found comfort in knowing that Ora is a family name, handed down from generation to generation. This is why I have denoted Ora Franklin Haines (1876-1891) as Wednesday’s Child.