Lillian Myrtle King Nelson Buzick Lott Wedeking Capone?

Lillian Myrtle was the youngest child of Mary Elizabeth Tapscott and Samuel King, though not as young as apparently proclaimed. Early records indicate a birth year of 1902 or 1903, but by the time Myrtle had died, her birth date had become 8 Mar 1905. It appears that two or three years were cut from her age as she grew older.

Before proceeding to our major topic, Al Capone, let’s clear up one mystery. In the 1930 census Myrtle appears as “Myrtle K. Nelson,” divorced, working as a housekeeper for her future husband, James Buzick. Apparently Myrtle was married to a “Nelson,” but who that was no one knew, or was at least not telling. It’s taken a couple of weeks of intensive research, but Myrtle’s first husband is now identified. He was Nels Nelson, son of Henry Oliver Nelson and Bertha Cathrine Olson. Myrtle and Nels were married in 24 Feb 1921 in Gibson City, Ford County, Illinois. Within a space of two years, Lillian gave birth to four children, two dying at or near birth and two, stillborn twins. The failed births may have put a strain on the marriage, for it soon ended in divorce. On 25 Jul 1931, Nels Nelson remarried in Bloomington, Illinois, to Mary E. (Herron) Penn.

Scarface

Thus, Lillian Myrtle King was married four times: to Nels Nelson (25 Jul 1901 - 2 May 1970) on 24 Feb 1921, James Clive Buzick (14 Aug 1890 - 16 Mar 1943) on 12 Jan 1934, Henry Robert Lott (7 Dec 1901 - 8 May 1954) on 1 Feb 1947, and Elmer Wedeking (7 Jan 1905 - 16 Jul 1985) in Jul 1961. Now let’s move on to Big Al. 

In the 1940 census, Lillian and her second husband, James Buzick are found living in Ford County, Illinois, with a 14-year-old “Foster Son,” Billy Knight. Chris W. Knight, Billy’s son, has written a book (Son of Scarface, New Era Publishing, 2014, available on Kindle) about his mysterious dad and his unknown origins. Several believe (or say they believe) that Billy Knight was a son of the mobster “Scarface” Al Capone. One of many possibilities proposed in Chris Knight’s book is that his dad was a child of Capone and Lillian Myrtle. True? I very much doubt it. But the book makes interesting reading and reveals some family history about the Buzicks. It also shows the thought processes that go into researching family history mysteries, though Chris's methodologies are quite different from mine.