Stories and Facts are not the same even when they match

I had been told by Grandma Helen (my father's mother) that Everett Foster died by choking on a piece of corn when he was five years old. I always thought the story was a bit silly and strange. 'How do you choke on a piece of corn?' But I never doubted the story's truthfulness.

According to my grandmother, her mother-in-law's brother Everett died choking on a piece of corn.

The story as I recall being told it:

'The kids were shucking corn for dinner and I guess he (Everett) was eating it. I guess he got a piece in his mouth and he must of been chewing on it and it slipped down his throat and he started choking. His mother grabbed him and ran with him outside and carried him to where her husband and the men were working but by the time she got to him (her husband) he (the child) was already dead.'

Everett was the second son of James Monroe Foster and his wife Martha Rose (Long) Foster.

The corn choking event happened November 4, 1912  in Missouri.
I always imagined it as Summer when it happened because I associated corn with Summer time. The date above makes it clear that it was not Summer time.

The thing about Missouri, unlike Oklahoma and Arkansas, is that Missouri has a good chunk of death certificates freely searchable and find-able online. So I was able to find many death certificates for many relatives that lived in Missouri (my paternal grandfather was born there and most of his male line lived there at one time or another since the 1800s). I will share more on that in a later post, for now I'll try to focus on Everett.

Now Everett Foster is much like Glen Curtis Graham another boy who died at age 5 in the last few past generations of my family. Curtis was my paternal grandmother's older brother and I have roughly ten different photos of him which were duplicated many times over and one was made into a calendar even.

Everett has no photos aside from one from a book that when I tried to copy it it came out all smudged and unidentifiable.

Everett was the second son of James and Martha Foster, Clara my great grandmother was their first born and about 9 when her little brother Everett died. Everett's death at age 5 as well as Curtis's at the same age have been repeated over and over to me by my late grandmother, the main difference between the two is that I know how Everett died, but not how Curtis died.

A few days ago I found a copy of Everett's death Certificate and reading it made the story I'd been told so often sound far worse than it had before. I suppose Asphyxiation from a corn kernel lodged in the trachea sounds worse to read then hearing 'he choked on a piece of corn' from your sweet old grandma.

So here are the facts of Everett's short life:

Everett Monroe Foster was born 18th day of October in the year of 1907 in Waynesville, Pulaski County, Missouri, USA.

He was the third child and second son of James Monroe Foster and wife Martha Rose (Long) Foster.

In addition to his parents Everett was welcomed into the world by big sister Clara Mae age 5 and big brother Fredrick Lafayette age 2. And by grandparents  J. L. and  Mattie Foster and grandfather Fred Long(a German immigrant). Along with many uncles, aunts and cousins.

In 1909 Everett became a big brother when Flood Floyd Edward Foster was born.

From his death certificate:

Everett Monroe Foster

Male, White, Single,

Age: 5 years 0 months 17 days

Born 18 October 1907

Last seen alive 4 November 1912

Died 4 November 1912 at 3:00 PM

 Cause of death:  asphyxiation caused by grain of corn lodging in the trachea.

Duration: about 10 minutes

Place of burial:  Friendship Cemetery
in Bloodland, Pulaski County, Missouri

Date of burial: Nov. 5 1912

Father: Jas. Monroe Foster

Mother: Martha Rosa Long

Informant J. M. Foster

It's odd that I know more about Everett then Curtis when Curtis died more recently(1934) and I have many photos of him sitting in a bag. Now if Curtis hadn't died in Oklahoma I may have been able to find his death certificate too by now and see if his death was similar to Everett's or not.
(Edit: I have since found Curtis' death certificate and his cause of death was not similar to Everett's).