Individual record

Esther Eunice Bills

1895–1990 · 95 years

Female Mayflower #37223 DAR #223427

also known as Paulson, Esther

Life

20 Feb 1895BornLinn County, Near Springville

31 Dec 1919MarriedtoRaeburn Iver PaulsonFlint, Michigan

18 Mar 1990DiedSilver Spring, Maryland

—BuriedGracelawn Cemetery, Michigan

Places in Esther Eunice’s life

Born Linn County, Iowa, Near Springville Wikimedia ↗

Married Flint, Michigan Wikimedia ↗

Died Silver Spring, Maryland Wikimedia ↗

Buried Gracelawn Cemetery, Flint, Michigan Wikimedia ↗

Notes & Recollections

The first child died the day after birth. Her working life was spent in teaching and in school administration. After retirement they moved to Tempe, Arizona, and then to Maryland. After her husband's death she moved back to Flint and later moved back to Maryland.

Education

B.A., Lennox College, Hopkinton, Iowa
M.A., University of Michigan

Records & Research

Esther Eunice Bills (1895-1990) married Raeburn Iver Paulson and was the mother of Lynn Paulson (b. 17 Feb 1921, d. 18 Feb 1921), Clifford Raeburn Paulson (b. 8 Aug 1922, Flint, Michigan), and Donald Howard Paulson (b. 14 May 1924, Flint, Michigan; d. 1983). The family structure (spouse and three named children) appears consistent with the trusted family report. However, the SINGLE source backing every finding here is the New England Ball Project page (p2201.htm), which the auditor could NOT load: the domain newenglandballproject.com returns DNS SERVFAIL on every resolver tried (local, 1.1.1.1, 8.8.8.8) and the original researcher likewise read it only through WebSearch result snippets, never the page itself. Because all "anchors" (spouse plus three children) derive from this one unverified, snippet-only page rather than independent records, the corroboration is not multi-source and the findings are downgraded from "confirmed" to "likely." Her own birth in Linn County, Iowa, death in Silver Spring, Maryland, and burial at Gracelawn Cemetery, Flint, remain report-only and were not confirmed by any external record. New details introduced beyond the report (Clifford's 2014 Hagerstown death; Donald's exact death date/place, Marine Corps service, and career) come solely from these unverifiable snippets and should be treated as unconfirmed.

Not yet confirmed — probable matches and family lore, shown for research. Treat with caution.

Esther Eunice Bills was the wife of Raeburn Iver Paulson; the New England Ball Project genealogy (read via search snippets only) lists her as his spouse and the mother of their children, consistent with the report's marriage anchor. likely

· Flint, Michigan (report) · Spouse and children names align with the trusted family report, so this is not a wrong-person match. Downgraded from confirmed: the sole source is a single genealogy page that could not be opened (domain newenglandballproject.com returns DNS SERVFAIL; content known only from WebSearch snippets). The spouse and the three children are not independent anchors because they all originate from this same unverified page. genealogy ↗
Her first child, Lynn Paulson, was reportedly born 17 February 1921 and died 18 February 1921 (the day after birth), consistent with the report note that 'the first child died the day after birth.' likely

1921-02-17 · The 'day after birth' death pattern matches the trusted report note, supporting that the report's 'Lynn Paulson (1921)' and '(died) Paulson' are the same child. Downgraded from confirmed: the exact dates (17-18 Feb 1921) come only from the single, unloadable New England Ball Project page (search snippets), not from any verifiable record. genealogy ↗
Her son Clifford Raeburn Paulson was reportedly born 8 August 1922 at Flint, Genesee County, Michigan, son of Raeburn Iver Paulson and Esther Eunice Bills; the same source reports he died 1 May 2014 at Hagerstown, Maryland, with a B.S.E. and M.S. from the University of Michigan. likely

1922-08-08 · Flint, Genesee County, Michigan · Birth date, birthplace, and parents are consistent with the report ('Clifford Raeburn Paulson (1922)'), confirming correct identity. Downgraded from confirmed because the only source is the single unloadable page (DNS SERVFAIL, snippets only). The death (1 May 2014, Hagerstown MD) and education are new details beyond the report and are UNCONFIRMED — they rest entirely on a source that could not be inspected. genealogy ↗
Her son Donald Howard Paulson was reportedly born 14 May 1924 at Flint, Genesee County, Michigan, son of Raeburn Iver Paulson and Esther Eunice Bills; the same source reports he died 22 January 1983 at Mansfield, Ohio, served in the 3rd Division US Marine Corps in WWII, held a B.A. from Michigan State and an MBA, and founded a management consulting firm. likely

1924-05-14 · Flint, Genesee County, Michigan · Birth year/place, parents, and death year 1983 are consistent with the report's 'Donald Howard Paulson (1924-1983)', confirming correct identity. Downgraded from confirmed because the only source is the single unloadable page (DNS SERVFAIL, snippets only). The exact death date/place (22 Jan 1983, Mansfield OH), military service, and career are new details and are UNCONFIRMED — they rest entirely on a source that could not be inspected. genealogy ↗

likely children: report “Report lists four children: Lynn Paulson (1921), Clifford Raeburn Paulson (1922), Donald Howard Paulson (1924-1983), and a separate '(died) Paulson'.” vs. found “The New England Ball Project (snippets only) lists three children: Lynn (b. 17 Feb 1921, d. 18 Feb 1921), Clifford Raeburn (1922), and Donald Howard (1924-1983). Lynn's death the day after birth matches the report's note about the first child dying the day after birth.”. The report's '(died) Paulson' and 'Lynn Paulson (1921)' most plausibly refer to the same child (Lynn, d. 18 Feb 1921) rather than two distinct children; no evidence of a fourth child was found. This interpretation is supported by the report's own note but the corroborating detail (Lynn's exact dates) comes only from the unverified, unloadable source.

Open questions (8)

CRITICAL SOURCE PROBLEM: Every finding in this dossier rests on a single source, the New England Ball Project page (newenglandballproject.com/g2/p2201.htm). The auditor independently attempted to load it and the domain returns DNS SERVFAIL on all resolvers tried (local 10.1.1.1, Cloudflare 1.1.1.1, Google 8.8.8.8); curl reports 'Could not resolve host.' The original researcher likewise never opened the page, reading it only through WebSearch result snippets. The page's own citations could not be inspected. As a result none of the 'confirmed' findings can be elevated above 'likely', and all snippet-derived findings were downgraded accordingly.
The dossier's 'multi-anchor corroboration' (spouse + three children) is NOT multi-source: all anchors derive from the same single, unverifiable page, so they cannot independently corroborate one another. A genuinely independent record (FindAGrave, FamilySearch tree with sources, census, or vital record) is needed to raise confidence.
New details introduced beyond the trusted report and resting solely on the unverifiable snippets remain UNCONFIRMED: Clifford Raeburn Paulson's death (1 May 2014, Hagerstown MD) and University of Michigan degrees; Donald Howard Paulson's exact death date/place (22 Jan 1983, Mansfield OH), 3rd Division USMC service, Michigan State B.A./MBA, and consulting firm; and Lynn Paulson's exact birth/death dates (17-18 Feb 1921).
No FindAGrave memorial for Esther Eunice Bills Paulson was located (search returned only non-matching Esther C Paulson 1897-1988 SC and Esther Irene Hanson Paulson 1893-1992 WI). Her burial at Gracelawn Cemetery, Flint, remains report-only and unconfirmed.
Esther's own birth (20 Feb 1895, Linn County, Iowa near Springville) was not independently confirmed; relies on the 2006 family report.
Esther's death (18 Mar 1990, Silver Spring, Maryland) was not independently confirmed; no obituary (Washington Post / Legacy / Silver Spring) or Social Security Death Index entry was surfaced.
The marriage date (31 Dec 1919, Flint, Michigan) to Raeburn Iver Paulson was not independently confirmed; the specific date/place was not surfaced from any verifiable source.
Parents Fred A Bills (1862-1926) and Sarah Jane French (1866-1950) were not independently confirmed by any external record located.

Sources consulted (7)