Wilbert Raymond Tuttle Connections

Out of curiosity… I opted to seek out & understand the man who gave such pivotal information on Frank Herbert Lee’s Delayed Certificate of Birth…

Mr. Wilbert Raymond Tuttle, born 9 October 1871 in Illinois.

“Bert” as he was known, was only a distant attachment to our Lee family, but left a lasting impression. Reports & stories have left “Bert” as a mere “acquaintance” to the Lee family as a whole, but he was closer than that I believe, especially with his marriage to Miss Marie Neuhaus.

Because the Lee family hasn’t clearly expressed a understandable connection with Bert, this detachment might be reality now. However, though his marriage to Marie Neuhaus lasted only about 8 years, it was when Frank Herbert Lee was a teenager becoming a man in our society…a truly impressionable time. Wilbert isn’t reported as being an accepted father figure to Frank Herbert Lee, but rather a “family friend”. However, it has been said Frank would refer back to him over time: “Bert is doing… Bert said…, etc.” He must have been much closer than believed… Especially since he was contacted & provided information for Frank 20 years after Marie died!

Secondly, Wilbert was the last living “relative” Frank had been close to by 1950…

In my research, I found I was quickly stonewalled again with Mr. Tuttle. After & before the 1920 Federal Census, he’s nowhere to be pinpointed. Immediately I wonder what these Lees & Mr. Tuttle have in common! Why are they missing in common records?

That was until a late night google search landed me in the hands of Cindy. Her listing online was a simple excerpt of some family facts surrounding Mr. Tuttle & his first wife, stating that Wilbert Raymond Tuttle was born 1869…

This was partly the issue I kept running into… a birthdate that wasn’t matching up. I could find a Wilbert Tuttle born 1869 or 1871 but never the acclaimed 1873… However, I was committed to my whim & contact her via her online page. Turns out Cindy had been stonewalled with Wilbert Tuttle after 1900!

We shared a few stories, including Bert’s hard personality & commonly disliked demeanor :) After a full night of research I was able to link up our Wilbert Raymond Tuttle to “Cindy’s” Wilbert Raymond Tuttle, via his brother Rollo Tuttle who seemed to go by Robert Tuttle in the end, & his children throughout the census years until I found them in the same household with John Milton & Eliza (Lyda) Tuttle in 1880. Bert remained close to his Mother & his Brother’s family, even a Taylor member (Joseph Taylor) was rejoined with the Tuttles in 1930 in Chicago, IL, solidifying all our doubts in belief.

Turns our that our Wilbert Raymond Tuttle was married prior to Miss Marie Neuhaus, at age 22, to Carrie Taylor. He had three children (May, Pearl, & Earl) whom, after Carrie died about 1903, were left in the care of her parents in Wisconsin, and was hardly heard from again while he finished out his life in Chicago, IL,…

Where we pick him up in our Lee family :)

I personally can’t account for Bert’s hard personality. However, losing two wives so young in each marriage had to be hard to accept. Living with his mother always so near & a father that died early in his life had to also play a role in demeanor. He is believed to have died around 1953 in Chicago, IL… He seems to have outlived everyone around him…

Thank You Cindy for Sharing!

Earl Tuttle with his father Wilbert Raymond Tuttle.