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Last month, I wrote about the marriage of Elaine Strang and Frederick Donaldson as recorded in the Consular Reports of Marriage, 1910–1949, database (and elsewhere). With the release of the U.S. Consular Reports of Births, 1910–1949, records this month, it seems only natural to take up the story again.

All the Little Donaldsons

From 1927 passenger records, we know that Elaine and Frederick brought home several little souvenirs from their years in China. Specifically, Susan, Frederick F., James R., and Jocelyn. A simple search of Donaldson and China in the Consular Reports of Births database brought three of Elaine and Frederick’s children to the top of the form.

What’s in a Name

One useful nugget that comes up on the birth records does not show up on either the passenger list or later in the 1930 census. The consular birth records provide middle names: Frederick’s F stands for Frow.

And James R. is James Rider.

We even get the names their father’s middle initials, F.G., stand for: Frow Goodhue. In fact, that threw me for a second on the results page where the mother is listed as Elaine Strang but the father’s name is truncated as Frederick Frow Goodhue.

One Left Over

And what about Jocelyn? Had I been paying a little more attention to my records from last month, I wouldn’t have expected her to show up among the U.S. Consular Reports of Birth records. Both the 1927 passenger list and the 1930 census list her birthplace as Massachusetts.

Which immediately raises another question or three: When did they come back? Why did they come back? Why Massachusetts? And are there any records of the trip? No wonder a family history is never done.