mother's death certificate to the undertaker "A.S. Baumann", she referred to her mother as Amelia McKay and herself as Jennie McKay. Due to an error in the death year, two death certificates were issued. The first, January 26, 1916 and the corrected second certificate was issued April 25, 1916. Amelia was buried in Chesterfield Baptist Church Cemetery on January 22, 1916.

As indicated in the Widow's Pension Declaration, five children of William and Amelia McKay did live to adulthood and all lived in various communities in St. Louis County and City with the exception of the oldest son, John.

John
He only appeared in the 1900 census.

1900

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He appears as: "John McKee"; living at home with Amelia and his younger brothers in the Bonhomme Township of St. Louis County; he is unmarried; his occupation is farmer; birth is January 1872 and age is 28.

Little if anything is known about John after Amelia died in 1916. He apparently moved away and broke contact with his siblings in order to establish a new life and identity in a location where he and his family were unknown. Some family members speculated he might have gone to Illinois and he apparently was never heard from again after Amelia's funeral.

Jennie
It is also thought that Jennie, like John, had little or no contact with the family, but she did not leave the St. Louis area. She appears in the 1910 and 1920 censuses.

1910

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She is listed as "Jennie McKay."

1920

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She is listed as "Virginia H. McKay."

In both the censuses she is unmarried, living and working at 4037 W. Pine Bl. in St. Louis City as a housekeeper for Ella McEwing and Charles McEwing, a widow and her adult son who were from Kentucky. I have not found Jennie in the 1930 census or any other reference to her during this time period. However, there is a death certificate for a "Jennie McKay" who lived at 2910 Pine St. and died March 8, 1944. She was buried in the Washington Park Cemetery. The certificate shows a birth date of March 8, 1874 and states that the deceased was a widow. The birthplace and parents' names are unknown, and since the birth date does not match November 15 or 19, 1874, it is not certain if this individual is our Jennie McKay.

Louis
He appeared in the 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930 censuses and WW I draft registration and he was the only family member who regularly used the "McKee" surname after Amelia passed.

1900

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He is shown as: "Louis McKee"; living with mother Amelia McKee and brothers; working as a laborer; birth September 1876 and age 23.

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