Referenced in the family
Stephen Chester Bills
b. 1896
Life
Records & Research
Stephen Chester Bills was born 16 May 1896 in Springville, Linn County, Iowa, the son of Fred A. Bills (1862-1926) and Sarah Jane French Bills (1866-1950). He died 3 September 1978 in Weslaco, Hidalgo County, Texas, and is buried at Highland Memorial Park Cemetery there. He married Lillian Grace Christopherson in 1917 (two children, Glen Chester and Russell Wallace Bills) and later married Violet M. Cox. Identity is confirmed by a FindAGrave memorial matching the known facts on three independent anchors: the exact birth date plus both parents with exact life dates.
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Stephen Chester Bills was born 16 May 1896 in Springville, Linn County, Iowa, USA, matching the report's birth date of 1896-05-16 exactly.
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He died 3 September 1978 (aged 82) in Weslaco, Hidalgo County, Texas, USA.
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He is buried at Highland Memorial Park Cemetery, Weslaco, Hidalgo County, Texas, USA (GPS 26.2219448, -97.992775).
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His parents are confirmed as Fred A. Bills (1862-1926) and Sarah Jane French Bills (1866-1950), matching the report's stated father and mother (names and dates) exactly.
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He married Lillian Grace Christopherson Bills (1894-1965) in 1917.
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He later married Violet M. Cox Bills (1907-1999) in a second marriage.
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He had two children with Lillian Christopherson: Glen Chester 'Bud' Bills (1918-1970) and Russell Wallace Bills (1928-1972).
Not yet confirmed — probable matches and family lore, shown for research. Treat with caution.
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His siblings included Dilman French Bills (1900-1956), Edwin Glenn Bills (1903-1978), and Ruth Eleanor Bills (1908-1940). likely
addition (not a conflict) birth.place: report “null (no birth place in report)” vs. found “Springville, Linn County, Iowa, USA”. The report left birth place blank; FindAGrave supplies Springville, Linn County, Iowa. No contradiction.
Open questions (4)
- Birth place of Springville, Linn County, Iowa is from the FindAGrave memorial only; a primary source (1900 census or the Iowa birth record the memorial references) would confirm it independently.
- The family appears to have migrated from Iowa to the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas (Weslaco, Hidalgo County) at some point; the timing and route of this migration are not yet documented.
- Sibling details (Dilman French Bills, Edwin Glenn Bills, Ruth Eleanor Bills) come from a single memorial and have not been independently cross-verified; retained at 'likely' confidence.
- Exact dates and places of the two marriages (to Lillian Christopherson and Violet Cox) beyond the year 1917 for the first are not yet documented from primary sources.
Sources consulted (4)
- FindAGrave memorial search: Stephen Bills, born 1896 +/- 2 years (2 matching records) · findagrave
- Stephen Chester Bills (1896-1978) - Find a Grave Memorial #150835347 · findagrave
- FamilySearch Family Tree search (sign-in required; not accessible anonymously) · familysearch
- WebSearch queries for Stephen Chester Bills / Fred A Bills / Sarah Jane French (no direct matches surfaced) · web
Ancestry
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