2.12.3.3. Robert Muir, Jr. (1912-1959)

Robert Muir, Jr., was born on 7 January 1912, in O'Fallon, Illinois, to Robert Muir and his second wife, Elizabeth "Liz" Fausz. He was their first child born four months after his parents marriage. Robert's father was a coal miner and by 1920 the family lived in Tralee, West Virginia, where one of Robert's sisters was born. By 1930 Liz and her daughters had moved back to East St. Louis but Robert Muir, Jr., lived in Maiden Spring, Virginia, as a boarder in the home of Joe and Clara Carter. Robert, Jr. was an unemployed coal miner at the time.

Later that same year, on 1 November 1930, he married Sadie Viola Cline, daughter of John Estil Cline and Maude Rasnake in Russell County, Virginia. They had seven children together, though one died as an infant, between 1932 and 1943.

Sadie Viola (Cline) Muir and Robert Muir, Jr., circa 1936; from the personal
collection of Faye (Muir) West

Robert, Jr.'s family lived in Raven, Virginia, north and east of Route 84. Robert owned a home valued at $1,000 and the family did not own a radio. He had worked for 40 consecutive weeks as a coal miner, approximately 46 hours per week and earned $1,200.

Robert, Jr., and Sadie separated on 1 September 1944 and almost five years later, Sadie was granted an absolute divorce decree on 11 May 1949 from the Tazewell County Circuit Court on the grounds of desertion. Robert, Jr., did not contest the divorce and was required to pay alimony. Their six children were considered minors by the court.

Robert, Jr., married again after he divorced. My grandmother believed his second wife's given name was Carrie but did not know her maiden name or if she had been married previously. My grandmother also had a daughter from this marriage listed in her genealogy notebook named Anne Muir. I have been unable to trace the second wife and daughter.

On 22 February 1959 Robert Muir, Jr., died at the Stevens Clinic in Welch, West Virginia, of hepatic insufficiency. Laennec's cirrhosis contributed to his death. At the time he died, Robert lived in Avondale, West Virginia. He was interred at Iaeger Memorial Cemetery in Roderfield, West Virginia. On Memorial Day 2015 my husband, brother, and sister-in-law attempted to photograph Robert, Jr.'s grave. However, a fire had destroyed the burial records for the relevant period of time and we did not discover his headstone in the few sections thought to be in use when he died.

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'Sadie Viola (Cline) Muir and Robert Muir, Jr., circa 1936,' personal collection of Faye (Muir) West
1930 U.S. Federal Census, Census Place: Maiden Spring, Tazewell, Virginia; Roll: 2463; Page: 31B; Enumeration District: 0014; Image: 109.0; FHL microfilm: 2342197
1940 U.S. Federal Census, Census Place: Maiden Spring, Tazewell, Virginia; Roll: T627_4298; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 93-21
Genealogy Notebook of Alice (Muir) Jennings, pages 8 and 12
US, Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014, Number: 332-01-3962; Issue State: Illinois; Issue Date: Before 1951
US, Virginia Divorce Records, 1918-2014, 1949 Muir, Robert, Jr. - Cline, Sadie Viola
US, West Virginia Death Certificate, No. 59-002-036, 22 Feb 1959
US, West Virginia Deaths Index, 1853-1973, 1959 Muir, Robert, Jr.
US, West Virginia Death Registrations, 1882, 1884-1965, 1959 Muir, Robert, Jr.