The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
Menu
Admin Sign-In

The Marriage and Lineage of Lloyd Benson Correll and Virginia Loretta Drumm

In local histories of Avon Park, the town’s first independent mortician is remembered as Lloyd Correll, who opened a funeral parlor on Main Street during the 1920s land boom and conducted the burial of his uncle, pioneer Gene Bristol[maxwell-1976]. Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell’s 1976 centennial history noted simply that “The Lloyd Correll family came from Indiana” and established a residence and mortuary on South Forest Avenue[maxwell-1976]. Vital statistics, federal censuses, and official county marriage registries corroborate the family’s biographical origins, identify Lloyd Correll’s wife as Virginia Loretta Drumm, and establish the geographical timeline of their migration to Florida.

Identification of Virginia Loretta Drumm

Documentary records confirm that the wife of Lloyd Benson Correll was Virginia Loretta Drumm (frequently recorded in administrative registers under the spelling Drum)[marr-oh-correll-1952][ss-numident-correll]:

  • Birth and Parentage: Virginia Loretta Drumm was born on 26 March 1897 in Suffolk County, New York, to parents who were native New Yorkers[census-correll-1930][iagenweb-correll-2008].
  • Maiden Surname Corroboration: When their son Lloyd Benson Correll Jr. married Ruth Ellen Morrison in Montgomery County, Ohio, on 5 March 1952, the official marriage certificate recorded his parents as father Lloyd Benson Correll and mother Virginia Drumm[marr-oh-correll-1952]. The surname Drumm / Drum is identically confirmed in the federal Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT) for Virginia and her descendants[ss-numident-correll].
  • Life in Florida and Demise: Virginia resided in Avon Park with her husband and children from the early 1920s through mid-century, surviving Lloyd Correll by twenty-three years. She died in Highlands County, Florida, on 27 April 1973 at the age of 76 (Florida Death Certificate 29332)[fl-death-index].

Marriage and Multi-State Migration (1917–1924)

Lloyd Benson Correll Sr. was born in Iowa on 5 February 1892[census-correll-1930][fl-death-index]. He was an only child whose widowed mother, Clara E. Correll (born in Iowa circa 1868), resided with him throughout his early professional career[census-correll-1930][iagenweb-correll-2008]. Correll was also a musician: in Avon Park he kept a music store on Main Street alongside the funeral business[maxwell-1976], and according to his granddaughter he had earlier played trombone in the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, a family tradition that no contemporary record has yet confirmed (see Lloyd Correll the Musician)[iagenweb-correll-2008].

Lloyd Correll and Virginia Drumm married circa 1917–1918, immediately following the entry of the United States into World War I. The sequence of their children’s birthplaces delineates their migration route from New York through the Midwest to central Florida:

  1. Jean L. (Gene L.) Correll (later Mrs. Jean Hill): Born in New York circa 1917–1918[census-correll-1930][maxwell-1976].
  2. Albert George Correll: Born in Waterloo, Black Hawk County, Iowa, on 4 September 1919[census-correll-1930][census-fl-1935]. He died on 20 September 1976.
  3. Clara Darlein (Darlene) Correll (later Mrs. Darlene Baucom): Born in Bedford, Shawswick Township, Lawrence County, Indiana, on 26 September 1921[census-correll-1930][census-fl-1935]. She died on 12 May 1994.
  4. Mary Frances Correll: Born in Florida on 27 August 1924, confirming the family’s arrival in Florida between late 1921 and mid-1924[census-correll-1930][census-fl-1935]. She died on 27 June 1974.
  5. Lloyd Benson Correll Jr. (“Billy”): Born in Avon Park, Florida, on 26 January 1930[census-correll-1930][marr-oh-correll-1952]. He served in the United States Air Force and died on 18 March 1985[marr-oh-correll-1952][iagenweb-correll-2008].
  6. James “Jimmy” C. Correll: Born in Avon Park on 26 March 1931[census-fl-1935][obit-james-correll-2016]. He served in the United States Navy during the Korean War, worked in municipal law enforcement, and died in Monroe, Georgia, on 31 December 2016[obit-james-correll-2016].
  7. Katherine Rose Correll (“Katie”, later Mrs. Katherine Hurn): Born in Avon Park in 1934 and named after pioneer restaurateur Mrs. Katherine Bristol of the Hotel Jacaranda dining room and bakery[maxwell-1976][census-fl-1935].

This demographic sequence clarifies why local oral tradition recorded that the Corrells “came from Indiana”[maxwell-1976]: the family’s immediate prior home before moving to Avon Park was Bedford, Indiana, where daughter Darlene was born in late 1921.

Household and Mortuary Life in Avon Park (1924–1945)

By 1924–1925, Lloyd Correll had established mortuary operations in Avon Park. His initial undertaking parlor operated on behalf of Georgia undertaker Jack M. Stephenson in a historic wood-frame building adjacent to the post office and Chamber of Commerce on Main Street[maxwell-1976]. He subsequently opened a retail music store in the new brick business block near the First National Bank, utilizing the back rooms for embalming and casket storage[maxwell-1976].

On 1 April 1930, the federal census enumerated the Correll household on South Forest Street (Highlands County Enumeration District 28-1, Sheet 9A, lines 15–22)[census-correll-1930]:

  • Lloyd B. Correll: Head of household, age 38, born in Iowa to Iowa-born parents. Occupation: “Undertaker” in an independent “Funeral home”[census-correll-1930].
  • Virginia L. Correll: Wife, age 33, born in New York to New York-born parents[census-correll-1930].
  • Children: Gene L. (12, b. NY), Albert G. (10, b. IA), Clara D. (8, b. IN), Mary F. (5, b. FL), and infant Lloyd W. [Benson] (0/12, b. FL)[census-correll-1930].
  • Clara E. Correll: Mother, age 62, widowed, born in Iowa[census-correll-1930].

Five years later, the 1935 Florida State Census for Highlands County (Avon Park Precinct 1, line 40) enumerated the full family, including younger son J. C. (age 3) and daughter Katherine (age 1)[census-fl-1935]. The South Forest Street residence operated as a traditional live-in funeral home: the family occupied the private second floor, while the first floor housed the formal viewing parlors, casket display room, and preparation facilities[maxwell-1976].

Lloyd Benson Correll Sr. died in Miami, Dade County, Florida, on 16 June 1950 at the age of 58[fl-death-index]. Virginia Loretta Drumm Correll survived him by twenty-three years, remaining in Highlands County until her death on 27 April 1973[fl-death-index].

References

  • maxwell-1976 — Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell. The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida. 1976. Held at the Avon Park Historical Society Depot Museum, Avon Park, Florida
  • census-correll-1930 — United States Bureau of the Census. 1930 United States Federal Census, Highlands County, Florida, Enumeration District 28-1, Sheet 9A, lines 15–22. 1 April 1930. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SR1B-WMM
  • census-fl-1935 — Florida Department of Agriculture. 1935 Florida State Census, Highlands County, Avon Park Precinct 1, line 40. 1 June 1935. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNVP-BH6
  • marr-oh-correll-1952 — Montgomery County Probate Court. Ohio County Marriages, 1789–2016, Montgomery County, Marriage Record of Lloyd Benson Correll Jr. and Ruth Ellen Morrison, 5 March 1952. 5 March 1952. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KDMQ-2GD
  • ss-numident-correll — United States Social Security Administration. United States Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936–2007, entries for Lloyd B. Correll and Virginia Drum. 31 December 2007. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6KST-HWC4
  • fl-death-index — Florida Department of Health. Florida Death Index, 1877–1998. 31 December 1998. Florida Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics, Jacksonville, Florida
  • obit-james-correll-2016 — Meadows Funeral Home. James C. Correll Obituary (1931–2016), Meadows Funeral Home, Monroe, Georgia. 3 January 2017. https://www.meadowsfuneralhomeinc.com/obituaries/James-Correll-4/
  • iagenweb-correll-2008 — Jane Correll Clark. Lloyd Benson Correll Query, IAGenWeb Message Boards, December 2008 – January 2009. 22 January 2009. https://iagenweb.org/boards/unknown/queries/index.cgi?read=213539

Where this comes from

Evidence
corroborated — More than one independent source agrees.
Review
unverified — Drafted from sources but not yet checked by a volunteer.
Rights
society

Sources

  1. Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell, The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida (Held at the Avon Park Historical Society Depot Museum, Avon Park, Florida) (1976) · book
  2. United States Bureau of the Census, 1930 United States Federal Census, Highlands County, Florida, Enumeration District 28-1, Sheet 9A, lines 15–22 (1930) · official
  3. Florida Department of Agriculture, 1935 Florida State Census, Highlands County, Avon Park Precinct 1, line 40 (1935) · official
  4. Montgomery County Probate Court, Ohio County Marriages, 1789–2016, Montgomery County, Marriage Record of Lloyd Benson Correll Jr. and Ruth Ellen Morrison, 5 March 1952 (1952) · official
  5. United States Social Security Administration, United States Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936–2007, entries for Lloyd B. Correll and Virginia Drum (2007) · official
  6. Florida Department of Health, Florida Death Index, 1877–1998 (Florida Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics, Jacksonville, Florida) (1998) · official
  7. Meadows Funeral Home, James C. Correll Obituary (1931–2016), Meadows Funeral Home, Monroe, Georgia (2017) · archival
  8. Jane Correll Clark, Lloyd Benson Correll Query, IAGenWeb Message Boards, December 2008 – January 2009 (2009) · secondary

Something here wrong, or incomplete? The Society would rather know. Tell a volunteer.

Have a question about this record?

← Back to collection

Ask A.P.

Ask the archive

    Try asking:

    0 / 500

    A.P. answers only from the Society's own archive and cites what it used. Questions are not linked to you; search history is stored on your device only (how it works).Ask a volunteer for anything it cannot answer.