His death certificate records Chales Clener (?) Houston, age 43 years 9 months 25 days, born 10 Jan 1867 in Illinois, died 6 Nov 1912 in Jackson township, Johnson Co., Missouri, married, farmer, father J. A. Houston, mother’s maiden name Margret Glenn, both born in Ky, cause of death tuberculosis of the intestines, informant A. J. Houston, Pleasant Hill, Mo, burial in Base Knobb.

(The handwriting is one of those hands that makes half the letters in the alphabet look like u’s. The closest regular name that his middle name could be is Cleve, but it looks more like Clener or Clenu or Clence.)

Her death certificate records Mary Pemberton Houston, age 80 years 7 months 2 days, born 17 Aug 1866 in Dover, Missouri, died 19 March 1947 in rural Freedom township, Lafayette Co., Missouri, residence south of Higginsville, widow, father Jerome B. Pemberton, born Albamerle Co., Virginia, mother’s maiden name Anna Chamblin, born in Kentucky, cause of death chronic myocarditis, informant Hattie F. Houston, Higginsville, Mo., burial in Warrensburg, Mo.

The place of birth is probably incorrect, since her parents were listed in Johnson Co., Missouri in all the censuses. It is possible they briefly spent time in Lafayette Co., but more likely her daughter Hattie just did not know where Mary was born.

Johnson Co. Missouri marriage records list the marriage on 12 Oct 1904 of C. C. Houston of Kingsville and Mary A. Pemberton of Warrensburg, both over 18 years of age.

Mary and Charles are no direct relationship to me, and this is not intended to be a complete family group sheet. They are entered in my database because Mary’s sister Hattie married James Manoah Downing, and the only evidence I could find of Hattie’s maiden name and parentage is from the records for Mary. (She was living with James and Hattie in the 1930 census, listed as a sister although she was really a sister-in-law, and her death certificate gives her parents.)

1910 census of Johnson Co., Missouri, Jackson township, lists on pp. 7-8 (of image group on Ancestry; the top of all the pages in the whole enumeration district is cut off omitting the page numbers and date) as family #79/80:
Houston, Charles C., 42, b. Ill Ky Ky, second marriage, married 6 years, farmer; Mary A., wife, 41, b. Mo Va Ky, married 6 years, mother of 1 child, 1 living; Hattie F., dau, 1, b. Mo Ky Mo; Beulah, dau, 18, b. Mo Ky Mo; Laura, dau, 15, b. Mo Ky Mo; Halbert, son, 9, b. Mo Ky Mo.

1920 census of Lafayette Co., Missouri, Davis township, Higginsville ward 2, enumerated 5 Jan, lists on p. 4A as family #86/88:
Downing, Annie, 71, widow, b. Mo Ky Ky; Houston, Mary, 48, boarder, widowed, b. Mo Mo Mo; Hattie Francis, 10, boarder, b. Mo Mo Mo.

1930 census of Lafayette Co., Missouri, Freedom township, enumerated 15 April, lists on p. 6A as family #122:
Downing, James, 55, b. Mo Ky Mo; Hattie, wife, 54, b. Mo Ky Va; Houston, Mary, sister, 60, widow, b. Mo Ky Mo; Hattie Francis, niece, 21, single, b. Mo Mo Mo.