Husband Ralph England Sharp Sr.
Born: April 7, 1900 at: Casey, Clark Co, Illinois 1
Christened: at:
Died: April 6, 1971 at: Terre Haute, Indiana
Buried: 1971 at: Washington, Cemetary, Casey, Illinois
Father: John England Sharp Jr. (1878-1962)
Mother: Daisey Delaware Snyder (1879-1974)
Married: August 3, 1919 Place: Greenup, Cumberland Co, Illinois 1
Other Spouse: Bernice Roberts Date:
Wife Velma Loretta "Retta" Havens
Born: October 2, 1902 at: Greenup, Cumberland Co, Illinois 1 2
Christened: at:
Died: March 1, 1951 at: Casey, Clark Co, Illinois 1 2
Buried: 1951 at: Washington, Cemetary, Casey, Illinois 1 2
Father: Emmet Pleasant Havens (1871-1948)
Mother: Ida Mae Ormsby (1872-1945)
Children
1 F Marjorie Loretta Sharp
Born: March 23, 1920 at: Greenup, Cumberland Co, Illinois 1
Christened: at:
Died: February 24, 1999 at: Valparaiso, Indiana
Buried: March 1, 1999 at: Lawrenceville, Lawrence County, Illinois
Spouse: Robert Jesse Warren (1916-1983)
Marr: June 17, 1940, Owensboro, Kentucky 3
2 M Ralph England Sharp Jr.
Born: October 1, 1925 at: Casey, Clark Co, Illinois 1
Christened: at:
Died: January 12, 1999 at: Juneau, , Wisconson
Buried: at:
Spouse: Rachel Worrell (living)
3 F Linda Ann Sharp (details suppressed for this living person)
Born: at:
Christened: at:
Died: at:
Buried: at:
Spouse: Lorimer "Pete" Flesher ( -1997)
Marr: March 9, 1962
Husband's Notes
[UL: Obit of Ralph E. Sharp from the Greenup Press April 15,197:UL]1 Ralph E Sharp, age 70, of rural Casey, passed away Tuesday April 6, 1971 in the Union Hospital, Terre Haute, Indiana. Mr. Sharp was born on April 7, 1900, the son of John E. and Daisy (Snyder) Sharp. He was a retired farmer and businessman. He leaves his wife, Bernice; three daughters, Mrs. Marjorie Warren of Lawrenceville, Mrs. Linda Flesher of Champaign and Mrs. Elizabeth Hawker of Cartersville; two sons, Ralph Jr. of Juneau, Wis., and John Cox in Japan; 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Funeral services were held Friday at 10:30 a.m. at the Markwell Funeral Home with burial made in the Washington Cemetary, southwest of Casey. From The Cumberland County History Sharp, Ralph England (b 7 Apr. 1900) son of John England and Daisy Delaware (Snyder) Sharp was married on Aug 3,1919 to Velma Loretta Havens (b 1 Oct 1902-d. 1 Mar. 1951) daughter of Emmet and Ida (Ormsby) Havens. They had three children. Marjorie born 23 Mar 1920 and married to Robert L. Warren of Lawrenceville, Ill. Ralph England Sharp Jr. born 1 Oct 1925 and married to Rachel Worrell of Bowen Ill. Linda Ann born 27 Apr 1937 and married to Lorimer L. Flesher, Champaign Ill. There are nine grandchildren, Marjorie having three boys, Ralph Jr. two daughters and three sons and Linda one son. Mr. Sharp engaged in the implement business in Casey Ill. as owner, salesman and field representitive for John Deere Plow Co. for fifteen or twenty years. When he sold the business he purchased from his father the farm where they both were born. He engaged in farming and the raising of pure bred cattle and Hampshire hogs until his retirement in 1965. In 1953 he married Bernice (Roberts ) Cox. She had two children by a previous marriage John Wayne Cox (b 6 Mar 1943) and Elizabeth Ann Cox (b 28 Mar 1946). They reside in the country home he built in 1947.
Wife's Notes
[UL: Obituary For Velma Loretta Havens:UL] Mrs. Ralph (Retta) Sharp 48, passed away at the family home five miles southwest of Casey last night at 11:40 after suffering with a lingering illness the past year. She was the daughter of the late W.E. and Ida Mae Ormsby Havens and was born in Union Township, Greenup and had always resided in this community. On August 3,1919 she was united in marriage in Greenup to Ralph E. Sharp. Until overtaken by illness, she was active in Washington E.U.B church, also Areta Chapter #79, O.E.S. and Messiah White Shrine, both of Casey. She is survived by the husband and three children: Mrs. Robert J. (Marjorie) Warren, Lawrenceville; Linda Ann at home, and one son Ralph E. Jr., student at the University of Illinois, Champaign. Three grandchildren survive- Robert Earl, Phillip and John Warren, Lawrenceville. She also leaves two brothers- Ralph Havens, near Casey, and Charles residing at Greenup. Funeral servives will be held at Washington Church Sunday, 2:30 p.m., with burial in Washinton cemetary. Rev. Oral F. Landis, Decatur, former E.U.B. pastor, will officiate. Lindsey funeral home is in charge of arrangements and the body will remain at the funeral home until the hour of service. FROM THE CUMBERLAND COUNTY HISTORY HAVENS, VELMA LURETTA "RETTA" was born in Cumberland County Ill.Oct 1, 1902, daughter of Emmett and Ida Mae (Ormsby) Havens. She grew up in and near Greenup, and attented Greenup public schools. On Aug 3, 1919 she married Ralph E. Sharp. They had three children: Marjorie, Ralph Jr. and Linda Ann. They spent some time in Flint Michigan, Cumberland and Clark Counties Ill. She was a member of the Washington Evangalical U.B. Church. She died March 1, 1951 and is buried in the Washington Cemetary.
Notes for Child: Marjorie Loretta Sharp
The Daily Record, Lawrenceville, Illinois. Friday February 26, 1999 Marjorie Warren 78 Valparaiso, Indiana- Marjorie Warren, 78 730 Fremont Road, Valparaiso, Ind., died Wednesday, Feb. 24, 1999 in Whispering Pines Nursing Home, Valparaiso, Ind. Born March 23, 1920, in Casey, she was the daughter of Ralph and Velma Haven Sharp. She was a homemaker and former employee of Golden Rule Insurance. She was married to Robert J. Warren and he preceeded her in death. A son and a brother are also deceased. Survivors include three sons, Phillip Warren, Valpairaiso, John Warren, Fremont, Calif., Donald Warren, San Antonio, Texas, and five grandchildren. A graveside service will be held at 2 pm Monday, March 1, 1999 at Lawrencevile Cemetery. Friends may call Sunday evening at Emmons-Macey & Steffy Funeral Home, Lawrenceville.
Notes for Child: Ralph England Sharp Jr.
[UL:Circus Stirs Memories of Long-Ago Times Juneau-:UL] Ralph Sharp still gets a tingle of excitement when the circus comes to town. His roots to the traveling shows go back to his pre-teen years, when he was growing up in Casey, Illinois, A community near the Indiana border. "Casey was on the main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad, between St. Louis and Indianapolis. It was a convenient stopping point for the circus, so it came every summer." said Sharp, who serves as Dodge County corporation counsel. Some of the circus wagons that will roll in Sunday's circus parade in Milwaukee were part of the Cole brother's show. Sharp remembers getting up before dawn on a summer's day in the mid 1930's and heading to the railroad siding in Casey, to help with the off-loading. " I was one of those kids who helped put up the tent and carry water for the elephants, so I could get in for free," said Sharp. " It was grunt work setting up bleachers and carrying water for those behemoths. I was somewhat apprehensive of the elephants at first, but they are not much different that a dog, just bigger." "Boy could they drink. They would empty a bucket in a few seconds. I kept hauling water until someone would tell me they had had enough." According to Sharp, the roustabouts were the core of the show. " It was fascinating to watch them drive stakes. Six of them would stand in a circle and drive a stake with their hammers in turn. You couldn't drive a stake with an air hammer any faster." Finally the reward would come, usually after a midday circus parade down Casey's Main Street- a ticket for the matinee performance. Sharp recalled that his ticket would not be the best seat in the three ring circus house, but a "free" ticket nonetheless. Sharp fast forwarding his memory to 1946, after he got out of the U.s.. Army. One of his friends owned a bingo stand that operated with a carnival and invited Sharp to join the enterprise. With nothing better to do after his discharge, he signed on. " The bingo stand was a 40 by 20 foot affair with tables and chairs all around. In the center was a pyramid-shaped shelf which displayed the prizes. "We would set a tent up over everything and one of us would call the numbers while about six of us would collect money, pass out cards and verify winners. " If we had a full set-down (60 to 80 people), we would have to call only four or five numbers and we would have a winner." Sharp said the $6 to $8 collected in a round would pay out a prize that cost the proprietor about a dollar. Prizes were called "flash", named for their visual appeal. Ceramic horses with clock mechanisms and sets of glassware were basic. The top of the line prizes were Indian blankets and cook ware. " It was fascinating. Some people would play all day. They would start with a $20 bill. You can play a lot of ten-cent a card bingo with $20. "If there was a tie the house got to select the prizes. They were always cake plates." Travelling with the carnival in the Middle West was not the greatest life, according to Sharp. The crew slept on cots inside the bingo stand and found it's meals where they could. " Our biggest problem was keeping clean. Few fairgrounds had a shower. Sometimes we would rent a hotel room so we could get a bath or shower." A room went for $1.25, but Sharp was sure they ran the proprietors water bill up by that amount. Two or three night stands were usually more profitable than week-ling shows, Sharp said. They got in and out before the novelty wore off. " A lot of characters travelled with the show. People lived that way because they couldn't handle restrictions. But they were all "extented family" in a way. " If anybody got in trouble, you always helped, you always sided with the carnival people." While there was a certain closeness among those who traveled with the show, each kept to his or her own business " You didn't stand around and watch the girlie shows. It was sort of an unwritten etiquette." The most exciting thing Sharp recalls while on the road happened one night somewhere in Ohio. It involved a man who operated a "roll-down joint" which included a type of keno game, and skill-o, a betting wheel of fortune. The man was sort of a competitor of the bingo stand, and Sharp said he used a lot of alcohol. "On this particular night, about 3 A.M.., he burst into the tent where we were sleeping, yelled "hey bingo", and proceeded to shoot a .38 caliber pistol into the tent roof." Sharp said authorities then hauled the man away for a cooling off. "Of everyone who travelled with the show, the Gypsies had the best deal. The old man would drive the truck. He would roll into town and park it in their assigned spot. Then he would go sit under a tree and have a smoke. The women would set up the tent, take care of the kids, make the meals, tell the fortunes and strike the tent. Then the old man would get in the truck and drive to the next destination." Sharp said his traveling show career ended before he entered law school in 1949. "I had a summer job, made a few dollars." And garnered lots of memories.
1 Cumberland County History.
2 Obituary.
3 Robert Warren Marjorie Sharp Marriage Certificate June 17, 1940 219, (Repository: In possesion of John D. Warren).
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