Contents
Whose family are you here for?
Showing both families — every line on the page. Pick a side to hide the other
family's ancestors; Earl, Kristin and their three children stay on either way.
Person · William Leonard Proeger
The record
- HHomethe fan · what changed · open questions
- MMigrationbirths and deaths on a map, by decade
- TTimeline609 entries · 5 eras
- PPeople290 cards, by generationWilliam Leonard Proeger
- LLines13 surname pages
The evidence
- DDocuments896 thumbnails, filterable
- SSourcesS1–S1207, with where each is cited
The findings
- How the wall came downProeger line
- The glass patentsProeger line
- How the Caffey half was closedCaffey line
- What the DNA saysits own page
- Four routesMigration
- The asymmetryLines
- Open questions20 questions
- Add to this recorda form, read by Earl
How to read this record
Every claim is tagged
Most family trees flatten everything into the same confident typeface. This one does not.
The three research tags below are the whole point of the exercise: they say what a document
proves, what the weight of evidence suggests, and what nobody has found yet. A fourth marks
what the family stated directly, where no document has been retrieved at all — it is kept
separate on purpose and is never quietly promoted to confirmed. A fifth, added on
13 September 2026, marks biological evidence: a DNA result is not a document, and it is not
testimony either. Two further labels mark where this page withholds information
rather than lacking it.
ConfirmedAttested by a document that was actually retrieved and read — a census sheet, a
government index, a grave marker, a family-written obituary.
ProbableStrongly supported but not nailed down: a user-contributed tree, a masked index field,
or a chain of consistent circumstances. Believable, not proven.
Not foundSearched for and not located. This is a statement about the search, not about the
person — the record may well exist somewhere unsearched.
Family testimonySupplied by the family and recorded on their word — no document has been retrieved for
it. Note the diamond rather than the dot: this is provenance, not proof, and it stands
apart from the three record tags above S24.
DNA evidenceBiological evidence consistent with a claim. It corroborates origins; it does
not by itself establish a person or a link. Note the bar rather than a dot or a diamond:
no DNA result on this page is ever counted as confirmed, because no document
was read for it S46.
Living — withheldThe person is living. By the privacy rule for this page, name and relationship are
shown, and at most a year the family has already published. Full dates of birth, ages,
places of residence and record identifiers are held back.
Research in progressA branch that is actively being worked on. The node exists in the structure so the
shape of the family is honest; the detail is simply not in yet.
Open full pageWilliam Leonard Proeger
LivingFather
Photograph — senior portrait, Prickly Pear, Abilene Christian College,
1965, page 63 S62. The page prints its
portraits three to a row and keys three names to each row alphabetically; his is the
middle portrait of the row captioned "Powell, Marsha Joy · Proeger, Bill ·
Propst, Wayne." He appears again, in glasses, in the 1963 Barracks Dorm Council
group photograph. Confirmed
- Sources
- 16
- Images
- 28
Life in the order the records give it
Record1905
The California Birth Index 1905–1995 contains exactly one Proeger born in 1941
indexed as "William Lenard Proeger," Los Angeles County, mother's maiden name
Silva S4. He is not in the Texas Birth
Index at all
S3.
Schooling1956
High school on Guam. Earl Proeger says his father went through high school on Guam while his stepfather, Navy officer
Earl Theodore Roberts, was stationed there after the war
S300. A family scrapbook page dated “May 1956 Guam” places the Roberts family on the island. Freshman at
George Washington High School, Guam, 1954–55, enrolled as
B. Roberts under his step-father's surname; identified in the class photo by his son Earl
S313.
Confirmed His sisters Nancy and Patty are at the same school that year
S311.
Schooling1964
Home town: Alameda, California. The 1964
Prickly Pear, the yearbook of
Abilene Christian College, lists him on its student roster as
"Proeger, Bill — Alameda, Calif." S45.
Confirmed Why Alameda matters. The whole paternal reconstruction turns on the mother's
maiden name
Silva, an
Alameda County family — and on his father having been
in Los Angeles County in 1940
S12. A college
yearbook printed in Texas in 1964, which knew nothing of any of that, records his home
town as
Alameda S45. It is a contemporaneous,
college-published record arriving at the same place from an unrelated direction. The same
roster lists
"Coffman, Nancy — Pasadena", which is where Earl's mother grew up
S45S1 — the two
of them on one student roster, in what is on present evidence the same year they married.
Withheld under the privacy rule: his age at either marriage, the state file
numbers of both marriage records, his address, his business, and the people-search
profile used only to cross-check a date already held by the family.
His date of birth is published here at Earl's express instruction, 13 September
2026, because it is the fact that closes the paternal wall and it comes from a state
birth index rather than from the family. That was a deliberate, named exception to the
living-adult rule as it then stood.
That rule is now gone. On
21 September
2026 Earl replaced it:
living adults are published in full, and only
minors are held back — named, and nothing else. So this date is no longer an
exception to anything; it is simply the first one that was published. What stays off
this card stays off for its own reasons, not the old rule's: his address, his business,
and the state file numbers
S24S43.
Family parents, marriages, children, siblings
Names1941
The exact day is no longer masked. Read in a signed-in FamilySearch session,
the same index entry gives
1 February 1941, Los Angeles County, California in
full
S43. This was
Probable on this page until
13 September 2026, because the free view masks the day and the entry could only be
ranked, not read. It is now
Confirmed the last soft joint in
the paternal reconstruction, closed by the record itself rather than by argument.
Marriage1964
Married
(1) Nancy Martin Coffman on
20 August 1964 in Harris County, Texas, licence 0302006, read from the county register image
S199
Confirmed. It was immediately after her college graduation: she is on the Abilene
Christian home-town rosters as
Coffman through the
1964
Prickly Pear S45 and absent from the
1965 senior index under either surname
S62.
Marriage1994
Married
(2) Briana, Travis County, Texas
S2.
Confirmed
Their son
John Jacob “Jacob” Proeger was born
25 May 1994 on Guam to Bill and
Briana Castro Proeger; Earl was present at the birth
S24.
Family testimonySiblings1937
Two sisters, and he is the youngest of the three.
Nancy Aileen Proeger (1937–1973) is the eldest (she died 9 January 1973 in Wallowa County, Oregon
S298);
Patricia "Patty" Collins Collins by marriage — is the middle child and is
living, so she appears here
with Earl's explicit permission
Family testimony. The order is Earl's
own correction, made within an hour of this page first publishing it the other way
round;
the paternal wall section keeps both versions
visible.
Siblings1967
🆕
His sister Patricia married Albert R. Collins on 4 May 1967 in California
Confirmed S1207. The state marriage index gives the groom as 48 and the bride as 28, which puts her birth between May 1938 and May 1939. Earl confirmed on 2 October 2026 that Albert is his uncle
Family testimony. The index is not the certificate, and its county code is not yet decoded.
Open questions what is probable, weak or missing — confirm or correct it
Not found
Divorced 1981
S1.
ProbableNot found in the Texas Divorce Index
1968–2011, whose only exact-surname Proeger entries are an unrelated Tarrant County
couple
S6.
Photos & documents 14 photos · 14 documents
Photos (14)
Open photoBill Proeger (enrolled as B. Roberts), freshman class, George Washington High School, Guam, 1955 · **S313** · Identified by Earl Proeger — page 29
1955 · p. 29
Confirmed
Download ·
AI-restored colour version ·
→ card
Open photoRestored and colorized (AI-assisted); faces are the original photo, colours are a best guess. Bill Proeger (enrolled as B. Roberts), freshman class, George Washington High School, Guam, 1955.
1955
AI restoration of the original photo
Download ·
Original photo ·
→ card
Open photoBill Proeger, portrait, c. 1960
1960
Confirmed
Download ·
AI-restored colour version ·
→ card
Open photoRestored and colorized with AI from the original, c. 1960. Colours are a best guess. Bill Proeger, portrait, c. 1960.
1960
AI restoration of the original photo
Download ·
Original photo ·
→ card
Open photoThe wedding of Bill Proeger and Nancy Coffman, with attendants, c. 1964
1964
Confirmed
Download ·
→ card
Open photoBill Proeger with the wedding party at his marriage to Nancy Coffman, c. 1964
1964
Confirmed
Download ·
→ card
Open photoBill and Nancy Proeger with their infant son Earl, c. 1967
1967
Confirmed
Download ·
AI-restored colour version ·
→ card
Open photoRestored and colorized (AI-assisted); colours are a best guess. Nancy and Bill Proeger with their infant son Earl, c. 1967.
1967
AI restoration of the original photo
Download ·
Original photo ·
→ card
Open photoBill and Nancy Proeger with Earl at Christmas, c. 1968
1968
Confirmed
Download ·
→ card
Open photoBill and Nancy Proeger with Earl, c. 1972
1972
Confirmed
Download ·
→ card
Open photoBill Proeger with his mother, his half-sister Kathy, his wife Nancy and their son Earl, c. 1972
1972
Confirmed
Download ·
→ card
Open photoBill Proeger holding a newborn, with Nancy, 1970s
1975
Confirmed
Download ·
→ card
Open photoBill and Nancy Proeger with Tasha, Earl, Mark and Damon, c. 1980
1980
Confirmed
Download ·
→ card
Open photoBill Proeger, c. 2019
2019
Confirmed
Download ·
→ cardDocuments (14)
Documents · 14 page images all documents
Retrieved from the UNT Libraries' Portal to Texas History,
or — for the University of Texas Cactus yearbooks — from Texas ScholarWorks.
Each thumbnail opens the full page scan, which can also be downloaded. The quoted text
is the OCR that ships with the scan, copied verbatim; the page image is the authority.
Open full pageThe Optimist (Abilene, Tex.) — page 5
Student newspaper · 30 November 1962 ·
page 5 of 8
…d that Conversion of Jailer' David' Are Subjects Subject for eight Abilene Chris- tian students speaking in Mon- day Night Meeting next week are "David" and the "Conversion of the Jailor" according to J. P. Lewis associate professor of Bible. Speakers will be Don Lyles Gary Lutes Allan McNicol Bill Proeger Jose Sadorrti William Russel Morrow Eugene Sloan and Jack Speer. The meetings conducted en- tirely by men students are held In rooms 100 101 103 and 100 of the Bible Building. rat !'HPPwr v eSK "41 ': HIkJKjLHHI Funny Dissertation Christian find so funny to write about? Temperance. OR MORE EXACTLY.…
Probable because given name matched “Bill” in the page text; published by Abilene Christian College / Church of Christ press, where Bill Proeger and Nancy Coffman were students; identified by given name only, which this page grades Probable.
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Open full pagePrickly Pear, Yearbook of Abilene Christian College, 1963 — page 52
Yearbook · 1963 ·
page 52 of 364
…Barracks Dorm Council: Bill Proeger, Jim Morrow, Ray Mullins, and John Bankston. Even the hard-working photographer has fun at Open House. "One more nasty crack about the condition of my room and you guys don't get any ice cream!" Lou Booth. 50…
Probable because given name matched “Bill” in the page text; published by Abilene Christian College / Church of Christ press, where Bill Proeger and Nancy Coffman were students; identified by given name only, which this page grades Probable.
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Open full pagePrickly Pear, Yearbook of Abilene Christian College, 1963 — page 350
Yearbook · 1963 ·
page 350 of 364
…es-284, 287, 289 Pope, Paul-105, 220 Porter, Linda-I 18 Porterfield, Karen-48, 105 Pounds, Richard-I 18 Powell, Jan-217, 258 Powell, Sara2 17, 258 Prater, Darla-132, 213 Prater, Jerry-313 Prestage, Charles-132 Prestwood, John-220, 255 Price, Sheryl-222, 242 Priddy, Margaret-48, 118 Prior, Linda-132 Proeger, Bill-50 Propst, Charlie-I 18, 241, 250 Propst, Dana-132 Pruitt, Gary-48 Pruitt, Linda- 118, 237, 242 Purcell, Eugene-I 18, 258 Pursch, Walter-- 18, 206, 241, 250, 259 Pursley, W. L., Jr.-132 Q Quinn, Diane-252 R Rabb, Elizabeth-I 19 Rader, Barbara-132 Ragan, Grace-259 Ragland, Douglas-I 19 Ragsdal…
Probable because given name matched “Bill” in the page text; published by Abilene Christian College / Church of Christ press, where Bill Proeger and Nancy Coffman were students; identified by given name only, which this page grades Probable.
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Open full pageThe Optimist (Abilene, Tex.) — page 2
Student newspaper · 8 November 1963 ·
page 2 of 8
…hville Tenn.; Charyl Elkins Abilene; and Nan Frazcr Belton. Other new members are: Car- olyn Gilbert Gorman; Larry Johnson Montague; Roland John- son Abilene; Bob Kelly Albu- querque New Mexico; Betty Mackey Amarillo; Jo Anna Ma- son Norman Okla.; David Mc- Fadden Big Lake; Joy McLean Houston; Bill Proeger National City Calif.; Wayne Propst An- son; Mrs. Stella Rldeout Abilene; Mrs. Molly Manly Sewell Abi- lene; Linda Speer Haskell; Mrs. Nicky Standlee Abilene; Sharon Trcece Odessa; Fred Willmon Borger; and Karen Womack Hawley. "The Malayslas have been pleas- antly surprised and pleased with the comp…
Probable because given name matched “Bill” in the page text; published by Abilene Christian College / Church of Christ press, where Bill Proeger and Nancy Coffman were students; identified by given name only, which this page grades Probable.
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Open full pagePrickly Pear, Yearbook of Abilene Christian College, 1964 — page 114
Yearbook · 1964 ·
page 114 of 398
…Peterson, Robert Jacksboro Petty, James Westminster, Colo. Pfleiderer, Carol Albuquerque, N.Mex. Phillips, Jimmy Amarillo %~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Proeger, Bill Alameda, Calif. Propst, Wayne Anson Pruitt, Linda Ellisville, Mo. I Pruitt, Ronnie Lake Jackson Purcell, Eugene Abilene Pursch, Walter Pleasanton Ragland, Doug Jackson, Miss. Ramsey, Peggy Phoenix, Ariz. Randolph, Marilyn Bandana, Ky. Rankin, Donna Fort Worth Raskopf, Nancy Knoxville, Tenn. R…
Probable because given name matched “Bill” in the page text; published by Abilene Christian College / Church of Christ press, where Bill Proeger and Nancy Coffman were students; identified by given name only, which this page grades Probable.
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Open full pagePrickly Pear, Yearbook of Abilene Christian College, 1964 — page 236
Yearbook · 1964 ·
page 236 of 398
…Sandra Curan Judy Ellis Cheryl Elkins Carolyn Gilbert Euline Green Marlyn Hopkins Judy Huey David Hughes Roland Johnscn Bob Kelley Jo Anna Mason Betty Mackey David McFadden Edward McLeod Dave Merrell Frank Miller Alvin Mitchell Royce Money M. Dougas Nelson Leslie Page Bill Proeger Wayne Propst Mary Rebecca Ross William Slone Myra Sowell Nicky Standlee Jan Stromquist George Sullivan Sharon Treece Fred Willmon I I I I i . ii iS g I _ E I I I I I I I I I I I I I i I i i I I I _ i i II I Ii . _ I I III I -f I I 23g Ii . _ i i gi I *3 I I…
Probable because given name matched “Bill” in the page text; published by Abilene Christian College / Church of Christ press, where Bill Proeger and Nancy Coffman were students; identified by given name only, which this page grades Probable.
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Open full pagePrickly Pear, Yearbook of Abilene Christian College, 1964 — page 383
Yearbook · 1964 ·
page 383 of 398
…Powell, Charles - 146 Powell, Jack - 297 Powell, Sara - 128,259, 279, 306 Price, Ron - 146, 162, 304 Priddy, Dottie - 146 Priddy, Margaret - 161 Prior, Linda - 128, 162 Proeger, Bill - 111, 233 Prophet, John - 128 Propst, Charlie - 111,233, 256, 295 Pruitt, Linda - 111,257 Pruitt, Rose - 128, 191,245 Pruitt, Ronnie - 111, 299 Pugh, Billie - 146, 157,229 Purcell, Eugene - 111,266 Purifoy, Janet- 146 Pursch, Ed - 146,260,274 Pursch, Walter - 111,295 Pursley, Bill - 128,270,…
Probable because given name matched “Bill” in the page text; published by Abilene Christian College / Church of Christ press, where Bill Proeger and Nancy Coffman were students; identified by given name only, which this page grades Probable.
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Open full pageWilliam Leonard 'Bill' Proeger and Nancy Martin Coffman (Earl's parents) — Harris County marriage register, 1964
Marriage register · 20 August 1964
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Open full pagePrickly Pear, Yearbook of Abilene Christian College, 1965 — page 63
Yearbook · 1965 ·
page 63 of 398
…d Weyburn, Sask., Canada Peterson, Robert Jacksboro Pfleiderer, Carol Jean Abilene Phillips, Wanda Gayle Odessa Pogue, Glenda Graham Poque, Robert Guy Dallas Pope, Allen San Antonio Post, Frieda Abilene Pounds, Richard Lubbock Powell, Jack Louisville, Ky. Seniors Enjoy Powell, Marsha Joy San Angelo Proeger, Bill Lueders Propst, Wayne Anson Pruitt, Linda Ellisville, Mo Pruitt, Marjorie Ttjcson, Ariz. Pruitt, Ronnie Lake Jackson 60…
Probable because given name matched “Bill” in the page text; published by Abilene Christian College / Church of Christ press, where Bill Proeger and Nancy Coffman were students; identified by given name only, which this page grades Probable.
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Open full pagePrickly Pear, Yearbook of Abilene Christian College, 1965 — page 228
Yearbook · 1965 ·
page 228 of 398
…ank in the top tenth of their classes. The club meets once each month to hear speakers such as Dr. Robert Johnson, Dr. LeMoine Lewis, and Dean Barton. Jo Anna Mason Wayne Massey Charles Mickey Carolyn Moore Katherine Mills Gay Nell Mitchell Norman Murphy James Nichols Nancy Parker Paul Parrish Bill Proeger Linda Rainwater Perry Reeves Eric Rickner Alice Sacra Jose Sadorra Claudia Scudder Myra- Siburt Sharon Treece Carol White Thomas Wicker Gall Williams Irene Williams Donna Wright Jeanenne Yadon Dr. James Culp Dr. J. W. Roberts Dr. Abe Malherbe Sponsor Sponsor Sponsor 225…
Probable because given name matched “Bill” in the page text; published by Abilene Christian College / Church of Christ press, where Bill Proeger and Nancy Coffman were students; identified by given name only, which this page grades Probable.
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Open full pagePrickly Pear, Yearbook of Abilene Christian College, 1965 — page 379
Yearbook · 1965 ·
page 379 of 398
…lub; Eta Beta Pi. 60, 263. PHILLIPS, WANDA GAYLE 60. POGUE, GLENDA SUE 60. POGUE, ROBERT (BOB) GUY 60. POPE, WALTER ALLEN 60. POST, FRIEDA LOUISE Major: Elementary Education SEA; Choralaires. 60, 235. POUNDS, RICHARD H. 60, 258. POWELL, JACK PAYNE Phi Delta Psi. 60, 214. POWELL, MARSHA JOY 60, 235. PROEGER, BILL LEONARD 60, 225. PROPST, CHARLIE WAYNE Knights, Treas.; Blue Key, Alumni Sec.; Alpha Chi; Texas Academy of Science; American Chemical Society; German Club. 60, 212,224, 226, 229, 281. 376…
Probable because given name matched “Bill” in the page text; published by Abilene Christian College / Church of Christ press, where Bill Proeger and Nancy Coffman were students; identified by given name only, which this page grades Probable.
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Open full pageThe Optimist (Abilene, Tex.) — page 2
Student newspaper · 4 March 1966 ·
page 2 of 8
…and be in the upper one-fourth of students on ACT test schores. Need was also taken into consideration. Departments giving grants and their recipients arc as follows: Art Vicki Cardwell Fort Worth Junior and Sue Johnson sophomore from Tulsa Okla. Agriculture Donnie Laughlln Morgan Mills. Bible Bill Proeger graduate student from National City. Calif. and Albert Kelppe sen- ior from Winnipeg Canada. Biology Richard Williams Wichita Kans. senior and Ray Palmer Jr. Ann Arbor Mich. senior. Business Administration Bud- dy Harlow Abilene and Mrs. Alvis Reid Jones Paris junior. Chemistry John Close Win- nipe…
Probable because given name matched “Bill” in the page text; published by Abilene Christian College / Church of Christ press, where Bill Proeger and Nancy Coffman were students; identified by given name only, which this page grades Probable.
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Open full pageThe Optimist (Abilene, Tex.) — page 5
Student newspaper · 21 October 1966 ·
page 5 of 8
…ned to en- courage their investment con- tributing dollars or deciding to send their son or daughter to ACC. Prodigal Son." Nov. 2 Norman Murphy "Is God Dead?" Nov. 0 Craig Fox topic to be selected. Nov. 16 Jim Reynolds "Grow Up." Nov. 23 David Gatewood "Christian Impact on the World." Nov. 30 Bill Proeger "Love." Dec. 7 Doug Nelson "The Guy Who Found the Treasure in the Field." DIAMOND PENDANT CHARGE ACCOUNTS INVITED NO INTEREST CHARGE UP TO A YEAR TO PAY GOULDING'S JEWELER 312 Pin. OR 4-4900 FREE PARKING NEXT DOOR 14K GOLD M Mission Study Attends By RON McCLUNG It can truthfully be said that the Pe…
Probable because given name matched “Bill” in the page text; published by Abilene Christian College / Church of Christ press, where Bill Proeger and Nancy Coffman were students; identified by given name only, which this page grades Probable.
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Open full pageChristian Chronicle (Austin, Tex.) — page 4
Church newspaper · 15 March 1968 ·
page 4 of 8
…unique position to answer this call. If the African can be con- vinced that proselyting or in- augurating white control is not being sought, he wel- comes those who will teach the Bible and the Bible alone. ' One such opportunity has College. The workshop will be been offered Norman Mur- phy, Bill Proeger and this group will enter Africa, next year directed by the Brookside church in Tulsa, Okla. An Independent group from Anglicanism called the Church of Christ in Africa has asked for ministerial training in their midst. As this group and the 160 other independent groups in Kenya and the 5,000 acros…
Probable because given name matched “Bill” in the page text; published by Abilene Christian College / Church of Christ press, where Bill Proeger and Nancy Coffman were students; identified by given name only, which this page grades Probable.
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Quoted text is the Portal's own OCR of this page, copied verbatim. OCR of 1960s newsprint drops punctuation and mis-reads letters; read the page image before treating any wording as exact.
In the record
Generation 2 — Earl's parents
- S1Family-written obituary of Nancy Martin Coffman Proeger, read at her memorial at Hope Chapel, Austin, 15 March 2025, and published by the family. Family-authored; the single richest document found.
- S2Texas Marriage Index and Washington State Archives, republished verbatim at SortedByName.com — sortedbyname.com/letter_p/proeger/index_2.html and
/index_1.html. Also the source for the Social Security NUMIDENT extracts and the immigration arrival index. - S3Texas, U.S., Birth Index, 1903–1997, exact-surname search — ancestry.com collection 8781. Returns exactly three records statewide.
- S4California Birth Index, 1905–1995 — ancestry.com collection 5247. The mother's-maiden-name field unmasks on a matching search term.
- S6Texas, U.S., Divorce Index, 1968–2011 — ancestry.com collection 8794.
- S12FamilySearch Tree public pages, no login required for deceased persons — William Harry Proeger
KC1N-799, Aileane Marie Silva L9GZ-NDP, William Leonard Proeger L7GK-VBK, Queen Anne Proeger LHQW-W1L — ancestors.familysearch.org. User-contributed; event lists are treated as PROBABLE unless separately sourced. - S24Family testimony — Earl Proeger, September 2026. Stated directly by the family and recorded on their word. Covers: the Silva maiden name and William Harry Proeger as his father's father (both of which record research had already reached independently); and, on Kristin's side, her father Thomas Caffey — raised in Austin, University of Texas, died at Austin — and her mother Lavonne Walker, Walker being her maiden name, born at Fort Worth, Tarrant County. Not a document. No record has been retrieved for any of the Caffey or Walker statements, no dates were supplied for either person, and none has been estimated. Carried throughout as Family testimony, never as Confirmed. Superseded in part on 13 September 2026: the Thomas Caffey statements are now carried on records instead — see S31–S35. The Lavonne Walker statements still rest on this source alone. Extended 17 September 2026: the family further states that she was born Walker, married a Caffey and divorced, then married a Danielson who has since died — which is why her photographs are captioned Danielson. It matches the Caffey obituary's "former wife, LaVonne Danielson" [S31] independently. Her present surname and her widowhood rest on this testimony alone; the second husband's given name, and every date and place attached to that marriage, were not supplied and are not published. Extended 22 September 2026 (eyewitness): Earl was present at the birth of his half-brother John Jacob “Jacob” Proeger, born 25 May 1994 on the island of Guam to William Leonard Proeger and Briana Castro Proeger; Earl states the birth was one month before his own wedding ceremony with Kristin, which was also held on Guam (the marriage itself was registered in Travis County; see the next entry). No birth record has been retrieved. Extended 22 September 2026 (Earl’s own account of his marriage): “Kristin and I married on Guam in a ceremony but registered our marriage in Travis County when we visited Austin, as that had been our home for many years, and we could marry without swearing, a scruple we held as Quakers and which Guam had no accommodation for.” The only date held is the Travis County registration, 25 June 1994, from the Texas Marriage Index [S2]; the date of the Guam ceremony was not supplied and is not published.
- S43California Birth Index, 1905–1995 — FamilySearch record
ark:/61903/1:1:VLNB-2LT, "Entry for William Lenard Proeger and Silva, 01 Feb 1941." Read in a signed-in FamilySearch session, where the day is not masked. This is the same index entry as S4; the free view returns it with the day hidden, which is why the birth date stood at Probable on this page until 13 September 2026. No paywall was defeated — a free FamilySearch account is all it takes. - S45Prickly Pear, Yearbook of Abilene Christian College, 1964 — student roster, p. 114: "Proeger, Bill — Alameda, Calif."; and p. 107: "Coffman, Nancy — Pasadena." Digitised by the UNT Libraries' Portal to Texas History, ark
67531/metapth39924 — p. 114 · p. 107. A contemporaneous, college-published record. Alphabetical, so the two entries fall on different pages of the same roster. More than twenty further Portal pages naming Earl's parents were retrieved and are held privately; only the two home-town lines are used here. - S62Prickly Pear, Yearbook of Abilene Christian College, 1965 — p. 63, senior portrait grid: three portraits per row, three names keyed to each row alphabetically, "Powell, Marsha Joy · Proeger, Bill · Propst, Wayne." Digitised by the UNT Libraries' Portal to Texas History, ark
67531/metapth39926. Corroborated by 1963, p. 52, the Barracks Dorm Council group photograph, whose caption reads "Bill Proeger, Jim Morrow, Ray Mullins, and John Bankston." The source of the portrait on his card. The thumbnail is a crop; the link goes to the full page, because the page is the evidence and the crop is a derivative of it. Published at his express instruction, September 2026 — he is living, and no date, address or employer appears with it. - S199Harris County, Texas, Register of Marriages — licence 0302006. Ancestry record 926048933. Read from the image at full resolution, 22 September 2026. Licence issued 19 August 1964; William Leonard Proeger, 23, and Miss Nancy Martin Coffman, 21, both of Abilene, married 20 August 1964; officiant Robert W. Coffman, minister. 🔑 The licence found: licence 0302006, married 20 August 1964. ⚠ The register does not say the officiant is her father.
- S298Oregon Death Index, 1898–2008: Nancy Ail Wortman, died 9 January 1973, Wallowa County, Oregon, aged 35, born April 1937; certificate 73-01723. Oregon State Library, State of Oregon Death Index 1971–1980 (Ancestry collection 5254, record 610109). Corroborated by the U.S. Social Security Death Index (Ancestry collection 3693, record 68905787): Nancy Wortman, born 6 April 1937, card issued in Oregon 1953–54, died January 1973. The 6 April 1937 birth matches her 1955 Oregon marriage record [S275] exactly. Read 23 September 2026 (documents/proeger/1973-oregon-death-index-nancy-wortman). Index entries only; the certificate itself has not been retrieved. Replaces an erroneous 20 Feb 2025 date that had been attached to her.
- S300Family testimony — Earl Proeger, 23 September 2026. Recorded on his word: his step-grandfather Earl Theodore Roberts fought in the Pacific in the Second World War and was stationed on Guam as an officer after the war, and Earl's father Bill (William Leonard Proeger) went through high school on Guam while he was posted there. Not yet matched to a service record. A family scrapbook page captioned “May 1956 Guam” supports the Guam posting; the high-school years are Earl's account alone so far.
- S311George Washington High School yearbook, Guam, 1955. Internet Archive
classmates-yearbook-37313-1955-george-washington-high-school (Classmates.com no. 37313). Page 80, senior portraits, read from the image, 23 September 2026: “NANCY A. PROEGER — Transfer 54 from AHS, Asteria [sic, Astoria], Oregon; Junior Class Secretary 3.” A club-photo caption reading “P. Proeger” (Patty) comes from the OCR text only and has not been checked against the image, so it is Probable. “Mr. Roberts” in this book is John O. Roberts, a social-studies teacher from Kirkwood, Missouri. He is not Earl T. Roberts. Bill Proeger is in the 1955 volume as the freshman “B. Roberts” S313. He has not been found in the 1956 volume. - S313George Washington High School yearbook, Guam, 1955 — freshman class photograph. Internet Archive
classmates-yearbook-37313-1955-george-washington-high-school (Classmates.com no. 37313). Page 29, lower freshman photograph, read from the image, 23 September 2026. Front row, fourth from left, captioned “B. Roberts”. Identified as William Leonard “Bill” Proeger by his son Earl Proeger, 23 September 2026. He was enrolled under his stepfather's surname. The 1950 census also lists him as William Roberts. The yearbook's “Mr. Roberts”, the teacher John O. Roberts, is unrelated. - S1207California marriage index — Albert R. Collins and Patricia E. Proeger, married 4 May 1967. Ancestry, “California, U.S., Marriage Index, 1960–1985”, record 8294292 (bride index, page 20,493). Image examined, read 24 September 2026. Confirmed Groom Albert R. Collins, 48; bride Patricia E. Proeger, 28; marriage 4 May 1967, county code 90; state file 46991. Earl Proeger, her nephew, confirmed on 2 October 2026 that the bride is his aunt Patricia and Albert R. Collins his uncle Family testimony. ⚠ A computer-printed index, not the certificate. County code 90 is not yet decoded, so the county is not given.