William H Capps was born on February 28, 1916, in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, the son of Hazel Holbrook Capps and Percy Capps. He had two sons and one daughter with Dorothy G Walsh between 1936 and 1941. He died on February 8, 1989, in Port Huron, Michigan, at the age of 72, and was buried there.

In the Canadian 1921 census, William was only 5 years old. He was living with his parents in the Lambton West district of Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.

At the time of the US census in 1930, William was 14 years old and living at home on Forest Street in Port Huron, MI. The 1930 census states that both of his parents were born in Canada. They immigrated in 1926 to the USA. William is listed with a US citizenship status of “alien.”

The image below is from 6 July 1926 -immigration to Port Huron Michigan. Note that his race is “Irish.” (note that at this time, the notation that he was of an Irish race may simply mean that he was not native born American.)

In that same 1930 census, Percy (William’s father) states that his occupation is “kiln-hand.” at a brass factory. Percy also says that his parents were both born in England.

By the time of the US 1940 census, William was 24 years old and is a naturalized US citizen. He lists his highest education level as completion of High School. He is employed as an inspector in a parts factory. He is living with his wife and sons at 2620 Armour, Port Huron, MI.

In 1941, William Harold Capps enlisted in the Army on July 25, 1941, during World War II. He was 25 years old.

Sadly, in 1953, his 12 year old daughter Carole Dorothy Capps, passed away.

Here is how William Harold Capps connects:

When Gugllielmo “William” Bivona was born on November 9, 1900, in Partanna, Trapani, Sicilia, Italy, his father, Vincenzo, was 26 and his mother, Anna Cappadoro Bivona, was 22. He married Calogera “Lillie” Triolo on February 23, 1927, in New York City, New York. They had one child during their marriage. He died on August 12, 1981, in Woodhavens, Queens, New York, at the age of 80. (William claims two places of birth in various US government records…described later in this blog… he may have actually been born in Argentina.)

The english translation for Gugllielmo is William.

William was the second born child. He had an older brother named Giuseppe “Joseph” Bivona who was born sometime around 1899.

When William was 4 years old his brother Francesco “Frank” Bivona was born. It was this brother, Frank, who was the maternal grandfather to my brother-in-law. So, William’s relation to our family is a Great Uncle to my brother-in-law.

In the 1920 US Census, William is 19 years old. He is living in New York on Manhattan Avenue in Brooklyn Assembly District 13, Kings, New York. The census records that he can speak English, but his native tongue is Italian. At the time of this census he is single and occupied as a dyer in a silk factory. (The census takers at this time were not too careful with spelling…he is listed as part of the Bevona family.)

Could history ever give us a break on facts? In the 1920 census, William states that he was born in Argentina. Later, in 1927, he will apply for naturalization and will claim that he was born in Italy.

I am guessing that William was an Italian citizen, but may have been born in Argentina. I know that the Italian family did live for some period of time in Argentina. That might be why William claimed in the 1920 census that he was born in Argentina but in 1927 filled out forms for naturalization stating that he was born in Italy.

In 1930, the US census taker is again careless with his name. He is now listed as William Bevone. I have learned that census takers just wrote down what they heard without always verifying the spelling of names.

In this document, he again lists his birthplace as Argentina. He must have been trilingual. Earlier, he stated that he could speak English but his native tongue was Italian. Now, he claims he speaks the official language of Argentina which is Spanish.

In this 1940 US census, William is 39 years old. He is occupied as a chauffeur. Again, census takers gave little importance to the spelling of names. He is listed as William Bevana. Really?

The only child of William and Lillie was Vincent Joseph Bivona who was a 1st cousin 1x removed to my brother-in-law.

Family Search is a free website for genealogy. The ID # for William is GWLV-T75.