Helen Dunn Green Wolf, Daughter of William E Dunn

Background:

As discussed previously in this blog, William Edward Dunn (WED) and his first wife had a daughter, Ella Dunn. After being widowed he married Josephine Barbara Lauer and they had eight children.

I've also written previously about what I've been able to find out about their eldest son, Stephen, and their second son, John (known as Jack). Their next two children were daughters Julia and Rosa, who died as children, and we have no other info about them. They were followed by sons Eugene, Edward and Francis (known as Smiley) Dunn, who are covered elsewhere in this blog.

The last child was Helen M Dunn and this page covers what I've so far been able to learn about her.

To start with, she was born a Dunn in 1907, married John Cecil Green sometime before 1934, and became Helen Green. Helen and John's only child was Mary Lou Green (who married Joe Starasinic).

Helen was widowed, later married Jesse Raymond Wolf, and ended her days as Helen Wolf. Doing genealogy research with someone whose name changes along the way is indeed an interesting challenge!

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Here's her obituary:

Chicago Heights Star
7/7/1994

"Helen M. Wolf (nee Dunn), a resident of Joliet, formerly a long time resident of Steger, died Sunday, July 3, in Joliet. [Nee is a word of French derivation meaning "formerly known as" when referring to a woman's maiden name.]

[Funeral] Services were [held] Wednesday at St. Liborious Catholic Church, Steger, with the Rev. John Sponder officiating. Interment was in Skyline Memorial Park, Monee.

The former Helen Dunn was born October 12, 1907, in Crete. She was retired as a sales clerk for Jordans Clothing Store and a member of the Happy Agers of Steger.

She is survived by a daughter, Mary Starasinic of Joliet, and three grandchildren.

Her husband, Jesse, died in 1992.

Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society.

Arrangements were handled by Steger Memorial Chapel, Steger."

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From the 1910 census:
Being born in 1907, the first census in which she would have appeared is this one. Helen's mother, Josephine Lauer Dunn, and the children lived in Crete, Illinois. Ella would have been 25 by this time, had married, become Ella Dawson, and was no longer in the household. Rosa and Julia had died, and three more children had been born.

WED had died in 1908 and the household looked like this:
Josephine Dunn, 39;
Stephen C Dunn, 17, [illegible word] keeper at Steger Piano factory;
John H Dunn, 15, custom finisher, also at Steger Piano factory;
Eugene M Dunn, 11;
Edward T Dunn, 9;
Francis A Dunn, 6;
Helen M Dunn, 2.

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From the 1920 census:
The family was still living in Crete, and in the household with Josephine, 49, are:
John, 25, a foreman;
Edward, 19, machinist;
Francis,16, millwright;
Helen, 12, presumably still in school.

All three males work for the Steger Piano factory. From other records we know that Eugene married in 1917 and is no longer in the household.

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About John Green:
Here's what I learned about John Green from his daughter, Mary.

Born: Chicago Heights, Illinois, on 19 December 1898;
Died: St. James Hospital in Chicago Heights, Illinois, on 5 December 1953;
Buried: St. James Cemetery in Strassburg, Illinois, on 12 December 1953.

At the time of his death he was survived by four sisters and two brothers:
Mrs. Frances Green Manno of Steger, Il;
Mrs. Sadie Green Stringer of Steger, Il;
Mrs. Anna Green Wyman of Chicago, Il;
Mrs. Hazel Green Zell of Chicago, Il;
Mr. William Green of Steger, Il;
Mr. Joseph Green of Steger, Il.

John moved to Steger, Illinois, about 1927. This could be the year he and Helen Dunn were married. Prior to his death he was employed for 17 years at the Victor Chemical Works in Chicago Heights, Illinois, where he was a foreman.

From the 1930 census:
John is recorded as living with the Stringer family in Steger:
Edward Stringer, head of household;
Sadie, wife; [John's sister]
Edward, son;
John Green, brother in law.

According to this census, John is age 31 and unmarried. It says his father was born in Germany and his mother was born in Illinois. Edward is a “planer” at the [Steger] piano factory. John’s occupation is listed as retail merchant / grocery store. The available data suggests that John and Helen were married between April, 1930, when the census was taken, and late 1933. This would allow at least 9 months between their marriage and Mary's birth.

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Helen's Marriage to Jesse Wolf
From: Cook County, Illinois Marriage Index, 1930-1960
Name: Jesse Wolf
Marriage Date: 22 Sep 1956
Spouse: Helen [Dunn Green]
Marriage Location: Cook County, IL

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From Helen's Social Security Death Index
Name: Helen M. Wolf
SSN: 327-24-9077
Last Residence: Steger, Cook, Illinois
Born: 12 Oct 1907
Died: 3 Jul 1994

I haven't found her in the 1930 census, but will continue to research. As is the case with her brothers Edward and Francis, it would be interesting to know more about her, so I will see what more I can learn and will update this page when I do so.

Last updated 5/22/2009