This mystery woman married my great grandfather Charles Yancy Trice. On her headstone in Belle Vista Cemetery, El Dorado, Kansas, it states “Paralee, Wife of C Y Trice” and the dates 1847-1893.
In the History of Boone County Missouri, “He was married November 19th, 1878, to a daughter of Alfred R Steele.” Unfortunately the book doesn’t say anything more about her. I have not found her or her father in 1850, 1860 or 1870 census records. The 1880 census records show that she was born about 1857, not 1847, as the headstone. But we know that a wife may not want to indicate that she is older than her husband.
On the death certificate of Odon Charles Trice it states that his mother was Paralee Steen, born in Joplin, Missouri. On the death certificate of his sister Harriet Trice Sheley it says her mother was Perilee Steene, born near Joplin, Missouri.
An obituary for Charles Yancy Trice stated that “By his first marriage to Miss Paralee M Steen…”
So the family has her maiden name as Steen. The history book has her father’s surname as Steele. I have been unable to find her, or her father, with either spelling.
So, who is she? Who were her parents? Are there any birth or marriage records for her? Do any of you have any knowledge of her? Do you have access to a death record for her that may give more information?
