Born in Virginia in May 1831 according to the 1900 U.S. Census, I tracked him from Warren County, Illinois in 1850 and 1860, to Appanoose County, Iowa in 1870, to Mitchell County, Kansas in 1880, to Umatilla County, Oregon in 1900, to Nez Perce County, Idaho in 1910.

His wanderlust probably came naturally. In the 1850 census his parents (John and Esther Wren) reported that Alexander’s younger siblings were born in Ohio.

Amarilla passed away between 1900 and 1910, as Alexander reported himself as a widower in the 1910 Census. I couldn’t find him in any other records between 1910 and 1920 but I did find some World Connect databases that say Alexander’s middle name was Andrew and that he died in December 1910 in Canada. Unfortunately they provide no sources I can check so I’ll leave him in Idaho in 1910, unless someone would like to provide more details about this family.

Speaking of sources, I want to thank a recent registrant who found some unsourced data in our Wren Kin database. As a rule I’ve tried to add only sourced information, but since that heads-up I’ve found more unsourced entries, most of them omissions I made while inputting data (a good reminder for me to SLOW DOWN).

In the meantime, if you find unsourced data or other errors, please remember that I welcome all corrections, additions, suggestions, etc.

And in my online cemetery hopping I found William E. Wren and his wife Pearl N. and their family, all from Iowa and apparently moved to Minnesota. William E and his son William Edward Jr. also appear to have been veterans: William E. Sr. in World War I and William E. Jr. in World War II.

And in more good news, we just had an Irish Wrynn join the Wren Family Association. He says he recently learned that his Wrynn surname was originally “Wren,” and that some of his great-grandparents would’ve had a lot of relatives emigrating to the United States.

More possibilities for your searches!

I’d like to use this opportunity to remind everyone of our goal to add every W(R)en(n) we can find into our database. If you would like to add your W(R)en(n) lines to the database, please let me know!

The database does not allow downloadable GED files. It does not reveal the identity of living individuals (unless we have the written permission of those living individuals) and it is password protected, meaning it is not searchable by Google or any other search engines. Our data is not for sale, either, so please consider sharing.