The Proeger Family · Generation 5 — Kristin's great-great-grandparents

Elizabeth Billings

Probable wife of James L. Montgomery · mother of his children

Elizabeth Billings

Probable

Probable wife of James L. Montgomery · mother of his children

Children
Milton Eastland Montgomery, Eunice Faye Montgomery, W. Irene Montgomery
Sources
7

Research status

Research status: PROBABLE wife of James L. Montgomery and mother of his children. Evidence: the obituaries of two daughters call them “daughter of the late James and Elizabeth Billings Montgomery” S1667 and “daughter of James L. and Elizabeth Billings Montgomery” S1668; the Texas death index for her son Milton gives his parents as James Lafayette and Elizabeth Jane S1666; in 1900 an Elizabeth L., born June 1865 in Texas, is James L. Montgomery’s wife in Gonzales County S1209; and a daughter’s 1939 death certificate names her parents as J. L. Montgomery and Elizabeth Billings S1211. Added to the family tree on 11 October 2026, with no dates

Evidence: The obituaries of two daughters name their mother as Elizabeth Billings Montgomery (S1667, S1668); the Texas death index for her son Milton gives his mother as Elizabeth Jane (S1666); a daughter’s 1939 death certificate names Elizabeth Billings (S1211). Weak or missing: Her maiden name comes from her children’s records, not from any record of her own; the newspaper texts are machine-read; in 1932 one obituary calls her his widow and his death certificate says “divorced”; no birth, marriage or death record of hers has been read, and no dates are known. Not yet confirmed. Know more? Confirm or correct this →

Life in the order the records give it

Death1932
The two accounts of 1932 disagree. The San Antonio Express of 10 February 1932 says James L. Montgomery was “survived by his widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Montgomery of Westhoff” S1670; his death certificate, on which his son-in-law John L. Jarratt was the informant, says “divorced” S1199. The reading entered is that she was his wife, living apart from him at Westhoff in 1932; whether they were legally divorced is open

Family parents, marriages, children, siblings

Children1886
Her children with cards: Milton Eastland Montgomery (1886–1974), Eunice Faye Montgomery (1892–1976) and W. Irene Montgomery (1903–1986)

Open questions what is probable, weak or missing — confirm or correct it

Weak or missing
What is weak or missing: her maiden name comes from her children’s records, not from any record of her own; the newspaper texts are machine-read and the death index was read as an index only; no birth, marriage or death record of hers has been read, so no dates are given. A county marriage or divorce record would settle it. Know more? Use “Add to this record”.

In the record Generation 5 — Kristin's great-great-grandparents

Elizabeth Billings · Sources

Citations

Sources cited on this card

7 of the record's sources are cited here. The numbering is the record's own; the full list, with where else each is cited, is at Sources.

  1. S1199Texas death certificate no. 9072 — James L. Montgomery, died 8 February 1932 at Victoria. Ancestry, “Texas, U.S., Death Certificates, 1903–1982”, record 81651405. Image examined, read 2 October 2026. Confirmed Born 28 December 1866, Texas; father James P. Montgomery. The image read of the index entry S1190; the father’s birthplace line is partly cut off.
  2. S12091900 census — James L. Montgomery and Elizabeth L., Gonzales County, Texas. Ancestry, “1900 United States Federal Census”, record 43467931. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 3 October 2026. Confirmed Gonzales Co., Precinct 5, ED 58, sheet 13B, 29 June 1900: James L. Montgomery, born Dec 1866 in Texas, parents born in Tennessee, farmer, married 14 years; wife Elizabeth L., born June 1865 in Texas, 5 children all living; children Milton (1886), Owen (1888), Eunice (1892), Talmage (1894) and Ruefell (1897). Billings households live next door. ⚠ The census gives Ruefell as born Aug 1897; her death certificate (S1211) says 14 Aug 1896. Neither is a birth record, so the year is unresolved.
  3. S1211Texas death certificate 57564 — Rue Montgomery Hempel, died 13 December 1939, Del Rio. Ancestry, “Texas, U.S., Death Certificates, 1903–1982”, record 81887713. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 3 October 2026. Confirmed Rue Montgomery Hempel, wife of John A. Hempel, born 14 Aug 1896 at Pilgrim, Texas, died 13 Dec 1939 at Del Rio of breast cancer; buried Westlawn Cemetery, Del Rio. Father J. L. Montgomery, born “Collette”, Texas; mother Elizabeth Billings, born Pilgrim, Texas. Informant J. A. Hempel. ⚠ This is his daughter’s certificate, not his own. The informant was her husband. “Collette” is not a known Texas place (perhaps Clinton or Cuero, DeWitt County); it is not adopted.
  4. S1666Obituary and funeral notices of Milton E. Montgomery — Corpus Christi Caller-Times, 18 and 20 August 1974; Texas death index. Obituary, 18 August 1974, p. 20, and funeral notices of 20 August; Newspapers.com, read from the machine-read page text on 2 October 2026, not from the page images. Milton E. Montgomery, 87, died 17 August 1974; born at Pilgrim, Texas; First World War veteran, retired barber; sisters named include Mrs. Eunice Jarratt and Mrs. Charles Jarratt; graveside service at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, 21 August 1974. Texas death certificate index, Ancestry record 359905, index only: born 27 October 1886, died 17 August 1974 at Corpus Christi; parents James Lafayette and Elizabeth Jane. The obituary does not name his parents. His wife and children are not named here.
  5. S1667Obituary of Mrs. Eunice Faye Jarratt — Victoria Advocate, 2 July 1976, p. 8. Newspapers.com, read from the machine-read page text on 2 October 2026, not from the page image. Mrs. Eunice Faye Jarratt, 84, a resident of Victoria since 1918, died Thursday in a local rest home; born 30 March 1892 in Gonzales County; “daughter of the late James and Elizabeth Billings Montgomery”; “Mrs. Jarratt was the wife of John L. Jarratt, Sr., who died April 9, 1969”; burial Evergreen Cemetery, Victoria. Thursday was 1 July 1976. Her sons and grandchildren are not named here.
  6. S1668Obituaries of Mrs. Irene Jarratt — Victoria Advocate, 9 January 1986, p. 16, and Austin American-Statesman, 8 January 1986, p. 13. Newspapers.com, read from the machine-read page text on 2 October 2026, not from the page images. Victoria: Mrs. Irene Jarratt, 82, of Austin, died Tuesday in an Austin nursing home; born at Pilgrim, 14 August 1903, “daughter of James L. and Elizabeth Billings Montgomery”; “She married Charles Allen Jarratt in Victoria Nov. 19, 1918”; burial Leesville Cemetery near Nixon. Austin: “Mrs. W. Irene Jarratt”, the same date and survivors. Tuesday was 7 January 1986. Survivors are not named here.
  7. S1670Obituary of James L. Montgomery — San Antonio Express, 10 February 1932, p. 16. Newspapers.com, read from the machine-read page text on 2 October 2026, not from the page image. “Survived by his widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Montgomery of Westhoff.” His death certificate [S1199] says “divorced”. The two are not reconciled.

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Compiled for the Proeger family

Living adults appear by name and relationship, with the year only: no full date of birth and no home town on any page that search engines index, and a living person’s own page is kept out of search engines. Minors appear by name only — no date of birth, no birth year, no age, no school, no place, no address, no other identifying detail. A minor may be named and may appear in a family photograph; nothing further about them is published. Where it is not established whether someone is an adult or a minor, the minor rule applies.

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