Who Are The Parents?

Perry B. Eneau is a man that has confused me to no end.  The brick wall with him is so tall I can’t even see to the top.

Perry was born August 15, 1872 in St. Joseph, Buchanan County, Missouri, according to his death certificate.  He married Carrie A. Young on October 28, 1898 in St. Joseph, Buchanan County, Missouri, according to his marriage license.  They are the parents of Maxine W. Eneau (my paternal grandmother).

I believe Perry was actually born with the last name of Heneault, which was shortened at some time to Eneau.  I don’t know when, why or how.  I find records under both names and his siblings and possible parents records always refer to Heneault (with various spellings, never Eneau like his records).

I need to look at the christening record from Immaculate Conception which is indexed at FamilySearch.org that shows his name as Perier Eduardum Eneau, however, I have a note handwritten by my father (Jerry Eneau Modrell), which states his name is Perry Baptiste Eneau with the same date of birth as above and also states he was born in the French Bottoms of St. Joseph, Missouri.  His death certificate and marriage license both show his name as Perry B. Eneau, as well as his obituary and tombstone.

His death certificate states his parents are Stephen Eneau and Victoria Lavelette.  There are several issues with this theory:

·         Victoria Lavelette married Xavier Lavelette on January 7, 1879 and they had no children (still trying to figure out if they were related – cousins maybe?).  This is according to FamilySearch.org, so will need to look at the record for this to see if there is any additional information.

·         Stephen Eneau married Victoria Didlo November 29, 1883 which is 11 years after Perry was born.

·         Victoria Didlo was born January 18, 1865 which puts her at 7 years old having Perry as a child which is not likely to have happened.

·         Stephen Heneault obituary from the Catholic Tribune states he leaves a brother, Perry Heneault in St. Joseph.

·         Victoria Didlo obituary from the Catholic Tribune states she leaves two (2) sons, Edward and David.

His christening records states his parents are Stephano Eneau and Victoria.  Again, only the above records and issues were discovered.

The 1880 US Federal Census states he is the son of Sylvester Henault and Lucinda Henault.  Following is a synopsis of the information found on Sylvester/Lucinda:

·         Sylvester Henault was 56 years old in the 1880 Census which would have put him at 48 years old in 1872 when Perry was born which is more likely than 7 year old Victoria.

·         Lucinda was 59 in the 1880 Census which would have put her at 51 years old in 1872 when Perry was born – is that likely?  I am not sure.

·         The 1900 US Federal Census shows a Sylvan Eneau living with his daughter, Victoria Richart. Most likely her maiden name was Eno, was she the Widow in the 1880 US Federal Census?  Was she married before Richart?

·         The 1880 US Federal Census shows a Victoria Eno as a widow living with Michael and Priscilla Lavlett.  It states Delia and Edward as daughter and son respectively, supposed relationship to head of household, however, Victoria Lavelette and Stephen Heneault were parents of Delia according to her marriage license to Julius Henry on September 9, 1918, not to mention Victoria Didlow (who married Stephen Heneault) also had a son named Edward.  Are these the same women?  Due to supposed age at birth of children, I doubt it, but I can’t find any other references to a Victoria Heneault, Eno, or Lavelette.

So, as you can see, I am so confused.  I can’t seem to find a record that will straighten all this out and provide me the information I need to move forward (or backward in the case of genealogy).  If anyone out there has any ideas, please feel free to let me know.