20 Jan 1863 – 6 Oct 1946
Grandson of Philip Cardon and Martha Marie Tourn
Son of Catherine Cardon and Moses Byrne
WILLIAM HENRY BYRNE
History was written by Fae Byrne Crompton
and posted to familysearch.org, ID KFBQ-3T4
William Henry Byrne was the son of Catherine Cardon and Moses Byrne. He was born on January 20, 1863, at Fort Bridger, Wyoming. Family tradition indicates that he was the first white boy born there. He was raised on his father’s ranch near Piedmont, Wyoming. In 1891, five of the Byrne brothers and their father Moses formed a Wild West show; it was called the “Wyoming Cowboy Show – Byrne Brothers and Byrne. They traveled with it for two years and when they got it to Chicago, about 1893, they sold the show to Buffalo Bill Cody. The names of the boys that participated in this venture are on the back of the ticket W. H. Byrne is one of the names that is written there.
William married Eda Mae Putnam in 1893. They had a son, Lewis Putnam Byrne, on November 24, 1893. They were later divorced. William Henry Byrne married Cecile Elvira Easton on April 2, 1899. Cecile was born on November 17, 1879, in Burnt Fork, Uinta County, Wyoming. They were married in his father Moses Byrne’s home in Piedmont. They were the parents of the following nine children:
Truth Ellen Byrne Born February 13, 1900, in Piedmont, Wyoming
Thelma Catherine Byrne “Thel” Born May 1, 1902, in Piedmont Wyoming
Minnie Belle Byrne Born April 14, 1904, in Piedmont, Wyoming
Ray Iris Byrne “Rae” Born May 8, 1906, in Piedmont, Wyoming
Wilma Francis Byrne “Billie” Born April 27, 1908, in Evanston, Wyoming
James Albert Byrne Born October 11, 1911, in Bishop, California
Female Baby–Stillborn Born in 1913, at the ranch in Bishop, California
Vinnie Etta Byrne “Etta” Born April 13, 1915, in Bishop, California
Charles Leavitt Byrne Born February 3, 1918, in Bishop, California
Wiiliam had a stocky build; he was 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighed about 135 pounds. He had brown hair and blue eyes. His hair was white in his forties; later he became bald and wore a thick white mustache. He had very small feet and bought his shoes in the boy’s department.
Cecile was 5 feet 5 1/2 inches tall. She had very dark brown hair-almost black, lots of it and it was very long. Her eyes were light gray-almost green.
William loved to tell this story: “l went with my mother and brother to see a neighbor. The wife just had a baby and was in a wagon with the baby. She handed the baby down to me to carry into the house. Mother and husband helped the lady. My brother put the team away. This baby became my bride. I was sixteen at the time.” (The baby was Cecile Elvira Easton who William married twenty years later.)
After their marriage they lived in Piedmont in the left house of the three that are still standing side by side in the old ghost town. Now, their roofs have caved in, and the structures are falling apart, soon they will be only logs laying helter-skelter flat on the ground. (2015)
When William and Cecile were expecting their 4th child their three older girls wanted a baby boy who was to be called Raymond. The baby was another girl, and she was named Ray. Her father gave her the middle name Iris from the brand name on a can of green beans he saw on the kitchen table. Ray later changed the spelling of her name to Rae.
William acquired a ranch that was located eighteen miles south of Mr. View, Wyoming. In 1908 they decided to move to California, and they sold their ranch to William’s sister, Alice Hinshaw. The family left Wyoming by train. The family consisted of: Father William, mother Cecile, and children- Truth age eight, Thelma age six, Minnie, age 4, Rae age 2, and Wilma age 4 months. On the train they brought all of their household items and farm equipment, 2 wagons, 4 team horses, one pack horse, 3 saddle horses (William, Cecile, and Truth’s), feed for the horses, tents, large cook stove, clothing, and tools. William had to care and feed all the livestock and he stayed with them most of the time. Truth would help him exercise them. William stayed with them at night. They did most of their own cooking.
They had a Pullman car with bunk beds. The train had five colored porters. They were the first colored people the children had ever seen. A porter gave each one of the children an orange. they had never seen one before. All of the children except Rae ate theirs, but she wanted to save hers. It got soft with her playing with it, and it spoiled. She cried over having to throw it away without even getting to taste it.
They arrived in EI Centro, California in September 1908. They leased property with an old house on it, but never lived in the house. They used it for a bee house. They lived in tents with wood floor and sides and cooked mostly outside.
William was a farmer, a beekeeper, and he wrote stories and poems. Some of his stories were published in the “Saturday Evening Post” and “Country Gentleman”. His pen name was Shay Van Aturty. William and Cecile were extras in movies. One was “Riders of the Purple Sage” with Tom Mix.
In 1910, they moved to Imperial Valley, California, where they leased ground and raised cotton. They again had an old house which they used for bees, and they lived in a tent and cooked outdoors. In 1911, they moved to Bishop and bought a ranch. They lived here until 1924, when they moved to Hawthorne, California, where they bought a duplex and lived in one side of it. Cecile Elvira Byrne passed away on February 6, 1935, in Hawthorne, California, at the age of 55. She was buried in the Inglewood Park Cemetery, Los Angeles County, California. William Henry Byrne died on October 6, 1946, in Montrose, California, at the age of 85. He was buried in Inglewood Park Cemetery, Los Angeles County, California.
Death dates of William Henry and Cecile’s children:
Truth Ellen Byrne Lane Died 14 April 1987 in Paradise, California
Thelma “Thel” Catherine Byrne Doyle Died 26 July 1986 in Visalia, California
Minnie Belle Byrne Hummel Died 15 January 1993 in Vista, California
Ray Iris Byrne De Cham beau “Rae” Died 7 November 1989 in Sacramento, California
Wilma “Billie” Francis Byrne Hoerle-Kuhn Died 16 August 1990 in Death, Nevada
James Albert Byrne Died 19 November 1994 in Thousand Oaks, California
Female Baby-Stillborn Died in spring of 1913 at the ranch in Bishop, california
Vinnie Etta Byrne “Etta” turned 100 years old on April 13, 2015, and died Feb 23, 2018, in Chico.
Charles Leavitt Byrne Died 6 May 1992 in San Pedro, California
Much of this information was taken from the histories of Rae Iris Byrne DeChambeau and Minnie Byrne Hummel who are daughters of William H. Byrne and Cecile Easton.
On July 4, 1887, Buffalo Bill Cody brought his Wild West Show to Evanston, Wyoming. Cowboys came from miles around to audition, hoping to become part of his show. William H. Byrne is in the middle row, the fourth man from the left. Willie wasn’t chosen, but his brother Eddie was. Eddie is the 7th cowboy in the middle row.
WILLIAM HENRY BYRNE
William Henry Burns, age 85, residing at 2544 Honolulu Ave, Montrose, passed away at his home October 6. Funeral services were held at the Dunway Funeral Home, Horace Searle, Christian Science Reader, officiating, on Wednesday afternoon. Mr. Burns has lived in California for the past 38 years, coming from Wyoming. He is survived by 3 sons, Charles of Hawthorne, James of Inglewood, and L. P. of Portland, Oregon. Six daughters, Mrs. E. C. Hummel, Inglewood; Mrs. W. A. Lane, Lebec; Mrs. W. J. Doyle, Montrose; Mrs. Rae DeChambau, Inglewood; Mrs. Iver Hoerle, Hayward and Mrs. Etta Herrter, Hawthorne; 21 grandchildren also survive. Interment was made in Inglewood Park Cemetery.
-copied from newspaper clipping, NOTE some misspelling