Nielsen Hayden genealogy

Claude Williamson Degler

Male 1920 - 2000  (79 years)


Personal Information    |    Notes    |    Sources    |    All

  • Name Claude Williamson Degler  [1, 2, 3
    Birth 19 May 1920  Poplar Bluff, Butler, Missouri Find all individuals with events at this location  [4, 5, 6
    Gender Male 
    Death 20 Apr 2000  Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana Find all individuals with events at this location  [6
    Person ID I38550  Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others
    Last Modified 6 Apr 2023 

    Father Howard Lynville Degler,   b. 12 Jun 1895, Kokomo, Howard, Indiana Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 29 Jul 1976, Little Rock, Pulaski, Arkansas Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 81 years) 
    Mother Virgie Viola Allen,   b. 17 Dec 1893   d. 20 Oct 1950, Henry County, Indiana Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 56 years) 
    Marriage 18 Feb 1918  Indiana Find all individuals with events at this location  [7
    Family ID F22637  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Alta Doris Smith,   b. 9 Jun 1929, Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 31 Mar 1995, Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 65 years) 
    Marriage 31 Jul 1944  Corning, Clay, Arkansas Find all individuals with events at this location  [8, 9
    Family ID F22636  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 1 Oct 2022 

  • Notes 
    • His World War II-era draft card, dated 1 Jul 1941, places him in New Castle, Indiana.

      His Fancyclopedia 3 entry is here.

      From Pong 19/20, 10 Aug 1981, ed. Dan Steffan and Ted White:

      Bob Tucker writes: "Claude Degler is alive and well (?) and living in or near Indianapolis.

      "I was attending InConjunction there a couple of weeks ago, when a tall and very thin half-stranger stopped me in the hotel lobby and called me by name. He asked me if I rec­ognized him. I recognized his voice immediately, and it was Claude. He had seen my name on the convention advertising and came down to meet me.

      "We talked for perhaps ten minutes and then parted, not to see each other again. I carefully did not give him my address, nor did he mention his but his remarks led me to believe he was living and working nearby in some Indianapolis suburb. He sounded sane and rational, his brown eyes sparkled with an inner fire, and it was Claude all right. The Cosmic Circle was never mentioned.

      "This news will plunge all fandom into war."

      From Fancyclopedia 3:

      Claude Degler died on April 20, 2000, one month short of his 80th birthday, and was likely homeless at the time of his death. He had been using the name John Paul Christman.

      In 2023, FamilySearch made the US Social Security NUMIDENT files available, which led to the discovery of a record matching Degler in nearly all details, including his known alias of “John Paul Chris(t)man”:

      Name: John Paul Christman

      Name note: Name and form dates: Application: JOHN PAUL CHRISTMAN (Nov 1956), Application: JOHN PAUL HARVEY CHRISTMAN (18 Apr 1988), Death: JOHN CHRISTMAN (20 Apr 2000)

      Alias: John Paul Harvey Christman

      Second Alias: John Christman

      Sex: Male

      Previous Residence: Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana, United States

      Previous Residence Postal Code: 46201-3203

      Death Date: 20 Apr 2000

      Birth Date: 19 May 1920

      Birthplace: Waterbury, Connecticut, United States

      Race: White

      Father's Name: Howard L Christman

      Mother's Name: Vergie V Allen

      The differences from corroborated facts, other than Degler's new name, are marked in bold: he gave his birthplace as Waterbury, Connecticut and he gave his father's surname as Christman, to match his own.

      The ZIP+4 of his last known mailing address, 46201-3203, corresponds to the east side of a half-block of Eastern Avenue in Indianapolis, which notably includes the Good News Ministries homeless men's shelter.

  • Sources 
    1. [S6677] Find a Grave page for Virgie Allen Degler.

    2. [S6678] "Worker Ends Own Life, Bares Mother's Killing." Indianapolis Star, 1 Nov 1950, p. 22.

    3. [S6679] "Leads to Finding of Body of Mother, Virgie Degler." New Castle, Indiana Courier Times, 31 Oct 1950.

    4. [S1336] U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, on ancestry.com.

    5. [S6729] Arkansas, Marriage Certificates, 1917-1969, on ancestry.com., date and state only.

    6. [S3561] Fancyclopedia 3, eds. Jim Caughran, Mark Olson, et al.

    7. [S3642] Indiana, Marriages, 1810-2001, on ancestry.com.

    8. [S3561] Fancyclopedia 3, eds. Jim Caughran, Mark Olson, et al., year and state only.

    9. [S6729] Arkansas, Marriage Certificates, 1917-1969, on ancestry.com.