Marie Levenia Ford (9 Aug 1857-4 Apr 1936)

Benjamin Ford's sister Marie came to his funeral in 1925 and is listed in the obituary as Mrs. M. L. Omering. She was born August 9, 1857, in Buttersville, Arkansas. Sometime around 1880, she married Charles Omering, a German, and they lived in Little Rock, Arkansas. They had two or three children who died as infants, followed by a son, Carl Herman Omering, on August 24, 1895. Carl served in a machine gun company in World War I. Perhaps he was injured during the war, as he is listed as disabled on his World War II draft registration. Charles died August 4, 1923. Sometime in the 1920s, Carl married Grace Ethel Oates. The couple lived with Marie until she died April 4, 1936. Carl died December 23, 1954 but Grace lived until July of 1981. It's not clear whether or not Carl and Grace had any children. Charles, Marie, and Carl are all buried in Little Rock.

Photo courtesy Pris Weathers.
Here are the relevant census records from 1860 through 1930 (she sure 'changes' her name a lot, doesn't she?):

Name	Age	Place of Birth	Comment
Year: 1860; Census Place: Caroline, Prairie, Arkansas; Roll: M653_48; Page: 949; Image: 420.
Luvenia Ford	3	Arkansas
Year: 1870; Census Place: Caroline, Pulaski, Arkansas; Roll: M593_62; Page: 108; Image: 213.
Maria Ford	12	Arkansas
Year: 1880; Census Place: Hot Springs, Garland, Arkansas; Roll: T9_45; Family History Film: 1254045; Page: 119.4000; Enumeration District: 73; Image: 0242.
Chas. Oemering	23	Hanover
Mary Oemering	17	Illinois
Hester J. Power	52	Louisiana	This is problematical. She is listed as 'Mother-in-law', but her name is wrong and Marie's mother died in 1870. However, it's hard to imagine that these Oemerings are not the same Omerings that appear later.
Year: 1900; Census Place: Little Rock Ward 1, Pulaski, Arkansas; Roll: T623 73; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 71.
Martha Omering	41	Arkansas
Chas H Omering	44	Germany
O Carl Omering	5	Arkansas
Hattie Omering	36	Arkansas	This is probably Marie's sister, Harriet Virginia Bell Ford and her daughter, Alma. Their last name was possibly Nelson
Alma Omering	12	Arkansas
Year: 1910;Census Place: Little Rock Ward 1, Pulaski, Arkansas; Roll: T624_62;Page: 37A; Enumeration District: 107; Image: 589.
Mariah Omering	53	Arkansas
Charles H Omering	54	Germany
Carl Omering	14	Arkansas
Year: 1920;Census Place: Little Rock Ward 3, Pulaski, Arkansas; Roll: T625_79; Page: 22A; Enumeration District: 128; Image: 368.
Myria Omering	60	Arkansas
Charles H Omering	65	Germany
Carl H Omering	24	Arkansas
Year: 1930; Census Place: Little Rock, Pulaski, Arkansas; Roll: 91; Page: 11B; Enumeration District: 9; Image: 154.0.
Marie L Omering	70	Arkansas
Carl H Omering	34
Grace Omering	30		Carl has married Grace Ethel Oates