john teter hendrickson

I am intrigued by many people that I find on my searches though ancestry.com My husband's family even has people tied to the Gold Rush, which is an exciting chapter that I have yet to explore, and as I said before, I really like looking at draft cards.
I also like passport applications. They can have a TON of information and sometimes even pictures!
(we all know how I am about pictures)
A couple months back I posted about Pedro Aisa (Peter Aissa) and I am hoping to someday find out even more about him, but I have hit a wall for now.

But the person I think I am most obsessed about is
John Teter Hendrickson.

John's parents were Jesse Hendrickson (PA 1818-1878) and Mary Ann Teter (OH 1824-1907) John was the youngest of 10 children and was born on August 1, 1868 in Joplin, Missouri.
At the age of 12 he lived in Prairie, Missouri with his mother, sisters Rachael and May along with his brother Edward.

On December 15, 1892 in Bates, Missouri he married
Minnie Elizabeth McElroy who was the oldest of three children. Her parents were William Allen McElroy (1839-1925) and Sarah Jane Durm (1844-)

In 1900 John and Minnie were living in Grand, Day, Oklahoma with the first two of their three children. Rena Louise (1894-1990) and William Roy (1897-1880) John was working as a farmer.

* When I looked up Grand a "frontier village", I found out that Day County itself was only around for 15 years -- Oklahoma History
Why did they go there?

In 1902 they had another child, Jennie E (Jennifer Elizabeth?) who was born in Missouri.

1910 the family was living in Riverside, California. John was still a farmer and his industry is listed as being 'fruit'.
I can't find where they were in 1920, but
Minnie was still in California in 1930 and was living with her youngest daughter
and granddaughter in Los Angeles and was "widowed".

Well, if we back up to 1917 we find that John has applied for a passport to

come back into the United States from

Agua Prieta, Mexico.

At this time he is a Hotel Keeper

"Established in business, hotel in Agua Prieta, Mex. where I am at present domiciled."

John was 50 years old, 5' 7 1/2" and had blue eyes

He had a 'high' forehead.

He had a 'regular' nose.

A 'firm' mouth and a 'square' chin.

His hair was gray-brown, his complexion was 'ruddy' and his face was 'regular'

John had to get people to vouch for him as to having been born in the United States.

One of those people was his brother,

Edward R Hendrickson.

On August 14, 1917 John married

Maria Mercedes Luna.

She was born on August 10, 1898 in Hermosillo, Mexico

and was (barely) 19 when she married John.

Her parents were Merced Luna (1854-) and Clayetans Zaneo Garcia (1864-)

John and Mercedes had two children, Edward Ruben (1918-1991) and Carlos Roy (1920-1921).

Carlos Roy died when he was 11 months and 28 days old.

John and Mercedes' son Edward R was my grandfather. The story that was told to me was that John's ancestors were from Finland

and that he had a "white" family before he married my great grandmother.

(and didn't necessarily divorce his first wife) 

John meet my great grandmother in Mexico after he fled there when he and his brother got into trouble with some 

San Francisco "outlaws".

From what I understand, John traveled back and forth from Mexico to San Francisco, but my grandfather never met him.

My aunt told me that there was a rumor that John was in San Francisco once when my grandparents were newlyweds, and they tried to contact him, but never found him.

Even though I can't find John's brother Edward R between 1880 and 1930, except for the letter that was written for John to prove he was a citizen, to me it seems that they were pretty close  --

And in 1930 Edward was in San Quentin Prison. Which is in Marin, across the bridge from San Francisco.

Is that why John came to San Francisco often, to visit his brother?

(since it wasn't his wife)

My grandfather is Edward R too and so is one of my uncles. My brother's middle name is even Edward, so were they named after him?

Did John also give two of his son's the middle name Roy because his first wife's maiden name was McElroy or was his brother Edward's middle name Roy?

I do know that John Teter died in Sinaloa, Mexico in 1943.

Here is the craziest part --

I was contacted on ancestry.com from someone who lives in Mexico telling me that her grandmother, Herlinda Pena was also married to John Teter Hendrickson.

(with no divorce?!)

They were married in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico in 1924.

They had 8 children between 1925 and 1941.

John, Nelly, Rose, Ernesto, Josephina, Emma, Charles and Roy.