Leroy Burtraw

Emma Oakes, my great-grandfather’s sister, was married to Floyd Burtraw on December 9, 1908 when she was 18 and Floyd was 21. They had 3 children: Earl (1909-1946), Margaret (1911-2011), and Leroy (1915-1922).

Detroit Free Press, Dec. 13, 1908, page 83

In the 1920 Federal Census, Floyd, Emma, Earl, and Margaret were living on Prentis Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. From this page of the census, one would never know that Leroy existed. Instead, I found him as a patient at the Eloise Hospital and Infirmary in Nankin Township, Wayne County, Michigan (now Westland). He was 4 years and 7 months old. Leroy and a boy named Wilbur, who was 2 years and 9 months old, were the youngest patients in the entire infirmary. From the census, I couldn’t tell what his illness was. Next, I found his death certificate listing his date of birth as May 15, 1915 in Detroit and his date of death as October 2, 1922 at 3:30 AM at the Michigan Home and Training School in Lapeer County, Michigan. The poor baby died of otitis media (a middle-ear infection) with secondary/contributory causes of tonsillitis, endocarditis, and “feebleminded.” Next, I looked up the Michigan Home and Training School and found that when it opened in 1895, it was known as “The Michigan State Home for the Feeble-Minded and Epileptic.” According to Merriam-Webster, “feeble-mindedness” is defined as an “impairment in intellectual ability” and is noted as a dated and offensive term. I wonder if doctors used the terms epileptic and feeble-minded interchangeably, and if Leroy was really epileptic.

Eloise infirmary building (on left), c1930 – from Friends of Eloise Facebook page

I wanted to find out more about the institutions that Leroy was committed/admitted to. Begun in 1832 as the Wayne County Poor House, by 1913 Eloise Hospital had three divisions: the hospital (mental asylum), the infirmary (or poorhouse), and the sanatorium (for tuberculosis patients). Leroy was in the infirmary on the date of the census, February 21, 1920. Before June 2, 1913, it had been called the Wayne County Alms House. Later, in March 1933, the infirmary became the Dr. William J. Seymour Hospital for infirmary patients, as well as mental patients with medical/surgical needs. I can only speculate why Leroy was there in 1920. I don’t think it was because his family was poor; Floyd had a job as a machinist at a factory in 1920. Was Leroy too young to be put in the mental hospital area for his “feeble-mindedness”? Did he have epilepsy, instead? And would that have been treated in the infirmary instead of the hospital? I wonder how long Leroy had been there before the census was taken, and how long after.

I do know, according to his death certificate, that he was seen by the doctor at the Michigan Home and Training School from July 1922 until his death in October 1922. The school began as the Michigan Home for the Feeble Minded and Epileptic in 1895 in Elba Township, Lapeer County.

Image from the 1896 Biennial Report

“Originally providing housing and care for epileptics, the home moved the epileptic patients to the hospital in Caro, Michigan, in 1913. This was done in order to focus more attention on teaching and training residents in hopes that they would eventually become productive members of society. By 1922, all residents were admitted only by order of probate court; this included mentally deficient and handicapped children, orphans, abandoned children, and juvenile delinquents, and special consideration was given to the poor.”

From Oakdale: The Lapeer State Home by Laura Fromwiller and Jan Gillis

Between July 1, 1917 and June 30, 1918 (3-4 years before Leroy came), the school’s rate of maintenance per patient per day was .66 cents. In their biennial report for the end of 1918, the school stated that “there are more than 300 on the waiting list who have been ordered admitted by the various Probate Courts.” An interesting item to note: “Our epileptic population – 65 male and 66 female – are children of school age and will not be transferred to the Michigan Farm Colony for Epileptics until provision is made for their training at the Colony. The balance are patients of low mentality and not eligible for transfer” (p. 14).

Attendant Minnie Kenietz and a resident in Cottage A Dormitory Room (from 1900 Biennial Report)

I don’t know if Leroy was physically well enough to enjoy the occupations at the school, such as farming vegetables and taking care of animals. In August 1922, according to the 9/21/1922 issue of the Flint Daily Journal, the population was 1,768.

Leroy Burtraw’s death certificate from Ancestry

When he died at age 7, Leroy had numerous infections (heart, tonsils, ear) and ended up dying of his ear infection, which may have been curable with antibiotics. Sadly, penicillin wasn’t discovered until 1928. Had he lived, Leroy may have eventually been forcibly sterilized as 2,339 people were at the school between 1914 and 1974.

A Sister’s Sacrifice

The title of this post comes from an article in the Christmas Eve 1889 edition of the Bay City (MI) Times. I’ll be writing about Emma Baker, the sister of Jacob Baker (my husband’s great-great grandfather). Emma was born to George and Elisabeth (Kline) Becker on January 13, 1869 in Ohio. She was the 7th of 9 children. In the 1870 and 1880 censuses, the family was living in Richfield Township in Lucas County, Ohio. Emma’s older brother Conrad (1860-1933) married Mary Hager in Bay City, Michigan in October 1884 and remained in that area. Jacob joined Conrad in Bay City sometime between 1884 and 1889.

Emma Baker
photographed by G. F. Sterling of West Bay City, MI between October and December 1889

Jacob became ill with “typhoid-malarial fever” and Emma came up from Ohio around the beginning of October 1889 to care for him – I assume since he was single and didn’t have anyone else to tend to him. According to the Bay City Times article, “For nine weeks [Emma] attended carefully to his wants, remaining at his bedside day and night, and sacrificing her health and rest for his good.” Around December 13, 1889, Emma too got sick. While she was ill, their brother Conrad also came down with the sickness and was moved to a different house (I assume since he had a pregnant wife and young son at home). Emma died on December 23, 1889 at about 10:30 AM.

Bay City Times, 12-24-1889, page 5

Emma was buried in plot 1264 in Bay City’s Pine Ridge Cemetery on December 24, 1889 at 2 PM. Jacob and Conrad recovered from their illnesses. Jacob was back in Ohio by 1900 where he married Bertha Knisel. He and his wife named their first child Emma Maud Baker, a touching tribute to his sister who nursed him, or as the article said, “…[laid] down her own life that her brother may live.”

Photo from Find-a-Grave user 47327084

Luella Lockwood Moore

Last post, I mentioned that the son of George F. Moore married a woman named Luella Lockwood. Her family is pretty interesting, so I’ll write a little about them. Luella’s parents were Charles T. Lockwood and Josephine Crofoot (possibly a niece of Michael E. Crofoot, the namesake of The Crofoot in Pontiac, Michigan). C.T. Lockwood was born in New York in 1835. He and Josephine Crofoot married in 1861 in Oakland County, Michigan and had 2 children. In the August 1870 census, the family was living in Pontiac and C.T. taught music. Their children were Luella, aged 5 and LeBaron, aged 2. C.T. was a composer and wrote a number of songs, and his wife Josephine was also a “teacher of piano and voice culture,” especially after her husband’s death in October 1870.

Ad in the “Pontiac Bill Poster,” July 11, 1883, p. 1 from Digital Michigan Newspapers

Ad in the “Pontiac Jacksonian,” Apr. 19, 1866, p. 2 from Digital Michigan Newspapers

Luella Lockwood was born in Pontiac, Michigan on February 4, 1865. As mentioned above, when the census was taken on August 20, 1870 she was five years old living with her family and a servant named Nellie Jeffers. In the 1880 census, Josephine (37), Luella (15), and LeBaron (12) were living on Clark Street in Pontiac. Josephine was a music teacher while her children were going to school. On May 12, 1885, Luella married George F. Moore, Jr. in Pontiac. On January 6, 1887, their daughter Ruth Janet Moore was born in Detroit. According to the society pages in the Detroit Free Press, Luella passed the winter of 1890 at Colorado Springs and returned home in April 1890 (Apr. 27, 1890, p. 9).

A huge article from Dec. 4, 1891 detailed the Annual Ball at the Light Infantry Armory, “a brilliant gathering of Detroit’s beauty and fashion.” (Detroit Free Press, p. 1-2). George and Luella, George’s parents, and George’s sister, “ladies and gentleman who viewed the dancers from the gallery,” occupied box 16.

Luella spent the summer of 1892 at Normandie-by-the-Sea, a hotel in New Jersey. She then visited her sister-in-law Adela (Mrs. J. Ledlie Hees) at Fonda, New York. (Detroit Free Press, 9/25/1892, p. 17)

Left: From Facebook, the “Normandie-by-the-Sea located in what is now the Normandie section of north beach in Sea Bright. It was quite a massive resort, including its own train station, which is the small building shown on the left side of the image… . The building was unfortunately destroyed by fire on Sept. 29, 1916.”

Luella and George’s son, George F. Moore III, was born August 31, 1895 in Pontiac. In 1900, the family was living in Pontiac on North Saginaw Street. Luella’s mother, Josephine, was living with them, as were a servant (Emma Howden) and a nurse for the children (Pearl Owen). Ruth was 13 and George III was 5. Luella’s father-in-law died at Magnolia Springs, Florida on March 25, 1904 and the newspapers noted that it was sudden and that George Jr. was with him. George Jr. filed for divorce from Luella on August 4, 1904.

“George Frederick Moore has begun suit for divorce from Luella Lockwood Moore, to whom he was married in Pontiac in May, 1885. He charges his wife with wilful desertion since April 27, 1901, which Mrs. Moore, in an answer filed yesterday from Pontiac, denies. She also sets up that her husband did not sufficiently provide for her support. She asks that his bill be dismissed, but in case the decree is granted, she asks the custody of their 8-year-old son. They also have a daughter, aged 17. Moore is a prominent Detroit business man.”

Detroit Free Press, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 1904, page 10

The divorce was granted December 20, 1904. George Jr. died only four months later, on April 23, 1905 in Los Angeles. His will, written in April 1904, left his estate for the two children to be divided between when George III reached age of 30 (Detroit Free Press, Apr. 29, 1905, p. 12).

Luella, like her father, became a composer. The Detroit Free Press wrote an article discussing the publication of one of her songs “Dearie, I’d Do Anything for You.” The article also talks a little about her father (May 24, 1908, p. 40 – see article at left). In May 1910, the newspaper called her “Detroit’s well-known song writer” who was “having tremendous vogue with her song, ‘Yester-Eve.'” (May 8, 1910, p. 24). In June, “Cecille Berryman [was] singing Luella Lockwood Moore’s songs at Penobscot Inn.” And “Joseph Sheehan, the operatic tenor, [was] singing it in vaudeville.” (June 19, 1910, page 11). On June 22, 1910, she left for a visit to New York City. (Detroit Free Press, Jun. 23, 1910, p. 7). Her daughter Ruth married Roy E. Wiant on June 28, 1911 and the wedding service featured two of Luella’s songs: “During the entrance of the bridal party Miss Elizabeth Moore sang ‘Bridal Veil and Orange Blossoms,’ the music of which was composed by the bride’s mother…. The marriage service was read…during which ‘Perfume,’ a new composition by Mrs. Moore, was played by the organist, Mr. C. W. Morse.” Obviously, fashion was a big part of the day. The article let us know that “Mrs. Moore, mother of the bride, wore a gown of white lace, embroidered with silver spangles and white silk pattern figures with touches of pink under the net. The bodice was cut in a square. Mrs. Lockwood, grandmother of the bride, wore a handsome gown of soft gray marquisette under gray satin, with a garniture of lace in various shades of pink and old gold” (Detroit Free Press, Jul. 2, 1911, p. 49). In mid-July 1911, Ruth and her husband returned from their honeymoon and moved into Luella’s house at 300 Forest Ave. West while Luella was vacationing in the Adirondacks (Detroit Times, July 14, 1911, p. 6). In Fall 1911, the Wiants moved to Philadelpia.

The Colorado Springs Gazette of May 5, 1912 read, “Mrs. Luella Lockwood Moore of Detroit, is spending a short time at the Antlers. Her musical compositions have been favorably received and Fink’s orchestra is using several of them at the hotel. Among them is a suite of three numbers called “My Lady’s Boudoir,” the subtitles of which are “Perfume” (a barcarolle); “Chiffon” (a caprice); and “High Heels and Buckles” (a ballata)” (p. 4).

A view of The Antlers Hotel in Colorado Springs, c1910-1915. From My Genealogy Hound

Luella’s daughter Ruth gave birth to a son named John Ledlie Wiant (Jack) in Philadelphia on April 21, 1914. The next year, Ruth and her husband moved back to Detroit and bought a house at 129 Palmer Ave. East (Detroit Times, Jul. 14, 1915, p. 8). On October 25, 1915, there was a song writer’s contest at the Orpheum Theatre with seven participants, including Luella (now living at 38 Hague Ave.) and her song “Mother’s Kiss is the Sweetest Kiss of All” (Detroit Times, Oct. 25, 1915, p. 2). Luella’s son George F. Moore III married Doris Blakesy in Detroit in March 1918. In the 1920 census, Luella, her mother Josephine, George III, Doris, and a servant named Margaret Ballard were living on Atkinson in Detroit. George was an insurance broker.

In August 1922, Luella, her daughter, and her grandson were spending the summer season at the Gratiot Inn in Port Huron, Michigan. In an article in the Detroit Times, Luella told a reporter, “I really don’t know just how I create my compositions. Of course I have studied some, but mainly I believe it was because of my father’s marked ability and because of God’s will.” She continued, “I believe my vacation here at Lake Huron will be conducive to assist me in writing several songs which I can offer before the winter. These wonderful cool days and the fresh breezes off the lake, cannot fail to help me.” (Detroit Times, Aug. 13, 1922, p. 38).

Postcard of the Gratiot Inn patio, https://digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A242643

In September 1922, Luella’s brother LeBaron Lockwood was working as a photographer and living in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The local newspaper there reported that Luella was “terribly injured in an automobile accident in Detroit. Mr. Lockwood, who received word from his mother in Detroit about the accident, states that Mrs. Moore has not yet regained consciousness…” (Sault Ste. Marie Evening News, Sept. 30, 1922, p. 3). I wasn’t able to find an article in the Detroit newspapers about the accident, but I know Luella did regain consciousness. Meanwhile, in September 1923, George and his wife Doris divorced. The next few years were tragic for the family. Luella’s daughter Ruth died on October 25, 1925 at the age of 38. Her cause of death was a grand mal seizure/epilepsy with a contributory cause of terminal broncho-pneumonia. George III died the next year at the age of 30. He died of edema of the brain. Luella’s mother Josephine Crofoot Lockwood died on August 24, 1927 at the age of 84. She had been a widow for 57 years. Luella died just a few months later at the age of 62. She died October 18, 1927 of hemiplegia (defined as paralysis of one side of the body) and edema of the lungs. She was buried in Elmwood Cemetery. At the time of their deaths, George, Josephine and Luella were living at 1129 Atkinson Avenue.

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1129 Atkinson in Detroit was built in 1916 and is a part of the Atkinson Avenue Historic District. Unfortunately, it suffered a fire and sold for $17,600 through the Detroit Land Bank in 2018. It is currently for sale for $20,000.

Moores of Mount Washington

Recently I have been doing more research on my great-grandmother Mae’s Moore Family. Her dad was named Fred Lowell Moore and, according to his death certificate, he was born in Coldwater, Michigan in 1863. His parents were Andrew Lowell Moore and Mary J. Lyman. Andrew was born in Mount Washington, Berkshire, Massachusetts. He and at least 3 of his brothers made their way to west to Michigan. Andrew’s parents were John Moore and Clarissa Sparks.

Andrew L. Moore, on left. His son Lee at right, grandson Charles T. Moore, and great-grandson Lee Jr.

John and Clarissa were married around 1812 and they lived mostly in Mount Washington. They had at least 10 children, including Abigail (1813-1885), Betsey (1816-1903), Michael (1818–1897), Benjamin (1820–1897), Louisa (1822–1898), John (1824–1897), Clarissa (1828–1921), Andrew (1830–1918), George (1832–1904), and Sabra (1837–1921). About 1847, they moved to Batavia, Genesee, New York, where Clarissa died in 1850 and John in 1857.

To Michigan, Boys!

Benjamin Moore was born on January 28, 1820 in Mount Washington, Massachusetts. He married Prudence Lee there on February 23, 1843. According to his obituary (Middleville Sun, 12/16/1897), he was converted in 1841 and commenced his ministry as a Congregational pastor at the age of 27. His obituary states that he preached in Batavia and Honeoye, New York, Plano, Illinois [1874-1876], Dowagiac and Wayland, Michigan, and finally, Middleville, Michigan. In the 1850 and 1860 censuses, he and Prudence lived in Batavia, New York and he was a farmer. Apparently ministry wasn’t his full time job until later his in career because in the 1870 census for Dowagiac, Michigan, he was a dry goods merchant. According to the “Minutes of the General Association of the Congregational Churches of Michigan” for 1873, he began his ministry in Wayland, Michigan on November 12, 1871 with a congregation of 42 people and in Middleville on January 1, 1876 with a congregation of 68. In the 1880 census, he was listed with his wife Prudence and their son Harmon Lee in Middleville, Michigan. His occupation was preacher. Prudence died on September 27, 1892. Benjamin’s obituary said that since her death, he had “constantly mourned her absence, often spending half days at her grave.” In January 1897, he attended his brother John’s funeral in Ann Arbor. Benjamin passed away on December 9, 1897 at the age of 77. His last words apparently were, “I am almost home.”

Benjamin Moore’s tombstone in Mount Hope Cemetery, Middleville, Michigan

John Moore was born on March 23, 1824 in Mount Washington. He married Emily Calkins on April 27, 1848 in Batavia, New York. He and Emily lived next to Benjamin in the 1850 census with their nine-month-old daughter Agnes. He was a farmer. According to his obituary (Ann Arbor Register, 1/14/1897), they moved to Jonesville, Michigan in 1855 and then to Niles, Michigan in 1859, where he “engaged in the book and drug business.” In the 1860 census, he was a druggist in Niles living with his wife Emily, daughter Agnes (10), son George (7), daughter Ida (3), daughter Mary (10 months), and two relatives of Emily’s, Frances and Edwin Calkins. In 1868, they moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan and purchased a book business. In the 1870 census, John was a book merchant in Ann Arbor with a personal estate of $15,000 living with wife Emily, daughter Agnes (20), son George (17), daughter Ida (13), daughter Nettie (5), and son John (1) . In the 1880 census, he was a bookstore owner living on South Division Street in Ann Arbor with his wife Emily, daughter Nettie (15), son John (12), and daughter Lucy (9). John sold out his book business to George Wahr in 1883. He was then a druggist again until his death. He died Friday, January 8, 1897 and was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in Ann Arbor. Emily lived with her daughter Lucy and her family in Detroit in the 1900 census. She died on May 11, 1917.

Site of John Moore’s bookstore (to the right of the building’s entrance) in Ann Arbor’s Gregory House, c1868 (http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moaa/x-bl000823/bl000823)

Andrew Moore was born on February 13, 1830 in Mount Washington. In the 1850 census, he was living with his parents John and Clarissa in Batavia, New York. Three siblings were living there as well – Clarissa (22), George (17), and Sabra Ann (12). He married Mary J. Lyman in September 1855 in Stafford, New York. In 1860, he and Mary and their 11-month-old son Lee were living in Pembroke, New York. Mary’s sister Amanda Lyman was living with them as well. By 1870, the family had moved to Little Rock, Illinois (near Plano). In the 1870 census (enumerated on July 9), Andrew was a druggist, living with his wife, son Lee (10), son Fred (7), daughter Cora Libbie (7 months), and Mary’s sister Cora Lyman (24), who died on July 21, 1870. In 1880, Andrew, Mary, and daughter Mary Frances (2) were boarding with Eliza Haines in Plymouth, Michigan, where Andrew was a general store keeper. By 1900, they were living in Sandwich, Illinois where Andrew was still a druggist. His future son-in-law Francis Newton was boarding with them as well. He was a drug salesman. Andrew’s wife Mary died in March 1904. He moved in with his daughter and son-in-law and died on October 3, 1918. They are buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Sandwich, Illinois.

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George F. Moore, of Edson, Moore & Company, in center (From Detroit Historical Museum, 1974.129.001)

George Moore was born on December 10, 1832. In 1850, he was living with his parents and 3 of his siblings in Batavia, New York. He married Adela Mosher in 1855. According to one of his obituaries (Buffalo Evening News, 3/31/1904), he “spent several years in the dry goods store of Seymour & Wells” in Batavia. Then, “in company with George[sic] L. Edson of LeRoy he went to Buffalo in the same business, and later in company with Edson removed to Detroit.” This move to Detroit occurred around 1859. George, Adela, and their 2-month-old son George Jr. were living in the city of Detroit in the 1860 census. George Sr. was a clerk in a dry goods store. In 1867, George, his friend James L. Edson, Allan Shelden, and Zachariah Chandler formed the dry goods business Allan Shelden & Co. In 1870, he was doing very well for himself as a wholesale dealer in dry goods with a personal estate of $30,000 and real estate of $7,000. He and his wife had 3 more children and 2 servants living with them. In 1872, he and Edson formed Edson, Moore & Company, a dry goods store, with Ransom Gillis (yes, this Ransom Gillis) and two others. Their business was located on the corner of Jefferson and Bates. The May 10, 1879 Detroit Free Press featured the news that George and his wife would be sailing for Europe where they would remain for four months. In 1880, George, Adela, George Jr. (20), Willis (18), Hattie (16), and Adela (14) were living on Winder Street in Detroit.

In 1881, George built a beautiful house at what was 1010 Woodward Avenue (https://digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A149118)

In December 1882, “George F. Moore…had the misfortune to lose by death his fine young pug puppy, presented to him by Mr. [Hiram] Walker, of Walkerville” (Detroit Free Press, 12/13/1882, p. 6). George’s wife and children were a staple of the society pages in the 1880s and 1890s. George Jr. married Luella Lockwood in May 1885. She was a composer, known for her orchestral suite My Lady’s Boudoir. Hattie married John A. Heames in a lavish ceremony in April 1887 (she died on July 1, 1888, two weeks after the birth and death of their son). And George’s youngest, Adela, married J. Ledlie Hees in October 1887. They moved to Fonda, New York. On November 25, 1893, the Edson, Moore & Co. building caught fire and 5 employees died. The company continued until 1974 in various locations. James Edson died in 1895. Adela died in New York City on October 28, 1902. George died in Florida on March 25, 1904. He and his wife are buried in the family vault in Detroit’s Elmwood Cemetery.

My Family in 1940

The following exercise was borrowed from a post from last year on Randy Seaver’s blog. Working on this exercise, I actually learned a few things about the 1940 census! I learned the circled x’s next to names mean that person is the one that answered the census-taker’s questions. Also, I noticed a column I had never paid attention to before – Number of hours worked during week of March 24-30, 1940.

The exercise:

1) Determine where your ancestral families were on 1 April 1940 – 80 years ago when the U.S. census was taken.
2)  List them, their family members, their birth years, and their residence location (as close as possible).  Do you have a photograph of their residence from about that time, and does the residence still exist?

*  On April 2, 1940,my father, Robert Wells (born 1939) resided at 17117 O’Connor Street in Allen Park, Michigan with his father, Edward Wells (born 1905), his mother Velma (nee Belknap, born 1913), and his three older sisters, Patricia (born 1934), Ruthann (born 1936), and Donna (born 1938). Edward was a stock chaser at an axle company. His salary was $1600 annually. He had worked 50 weeks in 1939 and 40 hours during the week of March 24-30, 1940. Velma answered the census questions. They owned the home, and it was valued at $1200. Here is a photo of that house today: 

17117 O’Connor

*  On April 8, 1940, my grandparents, Charles Wilson (born 1907) and Helen (nee Oakes, born 1912) resided at 2431 Bennett Street in Dearborn, Michigan, with their daughter Sally Ann (born 1934) and son Charles (born 1935). My mother, Mary, had not been born yet. In the census, Charles was listed as a truck driver at a creamery company, and his income was $2000 annually. He had worked 50 weeks in 1939 and 48 hours during the week of March 24-30, 1940. Helen was the one who answered the census questions. They owned their home, and it was valued at $4600. Here is the house in the 1950s:

2431 Bennett

*  On April 13, 1940, my great-grandmother, Mae Oakes Smiechowski Johnson (nee Moore, born 1892) and her 3^rd husband Alfred Johnson (born 1892) resided at 14810 Parkgrove, Detroit, Michigan, with Mae’s nephew, Harry Moore (born 1914). Mae was my grandmother Helen’s mother. Alfred and Mae owned the house (valued at $6000) and rented the upper flat out for $35 a month. Alfred was listed as an inspector of automobile parts, and his income was $2100 annually. He had worked 48 weeks in 1939 and 40 hours during the week of March 24-30, 1940. Alfred was the one who answered the census questions. Here is the house in 2007. It has since been torn down.

14810 Parkgrove (from Google Street View)

*  On April 19, 1940, my great-great grandmother, Mina Moore Thompson (nee Bolt, born 1865) and her 2^nd husband Bert Thompson (born 1879) resided at 23439 Michigan Avenue in Dearborn, Michigan. Mina, Mae’s mother, was the one that answered the census questions. Bert was a carpenter in building construction and worked 26 weeks in 1939. During the week of March 24-30, 1940, he worked 24 hours. His annual income was $800. They rented the house for $10/month. The house would have been located on the south side of Michigan Ave. near the corner of Outer Drive. It was torn down before 1956, when an office building was built there.

*  On April 16, 1940, my great-grandmother, Nannie Wells (nee Clark, born 1880) resided at 1087 Victoria Avenue in Lincoln Park, Michigan with her son Jesse. She rented the house for $30/month. Also living with her were two lodgers from Indiana named Fred and Boaz Duncan. Nannie was the mother of my grandfather Edward Wells. The house no longer stands but was located near Fort Street and Outer Drive.

*  On April 3, 1940, my great-grandparents, Earl Belknap (born 1895) and Florence (nee Bost, born 1896) resided at 1611 Electric Avenue in Lincoln Park, Michigan with their children Helen (born 1921), Arthur (born 1923), Betty (born 1927), Joyce (born 1931), Nancy (born 1934), Nadine (born 1936) and Shirley (born 1939). Earl and Florence were the parents of my grandmother Velma. I don’t have a picture, but it was located near Fort Street and Southfield Road. They rented for $20/month. Earl was a carpenter, earning $750 in income annually. He had worked 36 weeks in 1939.

*  On April 19, 1940, my great-great grandfather, Arthur Belknap (born 1869) was the father of Earl Belknap and resided at 35120 University in Nankin Township, Michigan (now in Westland, Michigan). He was living with his daughter Belva (born 1899) and her husband Alva Merillat and their children Bernetta (born 1928) and Ralph (born 1939). They rented the house for $20 a month. Here is a photo of the house from 2007:

35120 University

#38 Moore Boys

My grandmother Helen was an only child. She had three first cousins on her mother’s side. On her father’s side, she had nine first cousins, but I don’t think she knew any of them. She doesn’t seem to have had much contact with his side of the family, and he died in 1928 when she was about 16.

Today, I’d like to post some picture’s of Ma’s first cousins on her mom’s side, Lee, Harry, and Glenn Moore, the sons of her uncle Glenn “Fred” Moore. Lee was born on January 5, 1913 in Hartford, Van Buren, Michigan, Harry was born on December 25, 1914, and Glenn III was born on June 20, 1922 in New Buffalo, Michigan.

Glenn Moore III, with his mother Nela (right), his aunt and my great-grandmother Mae Moore (left), and his grandmother and my great-great grandmother Mina (center)

Week 38 (Sept. 16-22): Cousins

#36 Helen Oakes’ School Play

I’m not sure what grade this is from, what school it was taken at, or how old my grandmother was, but I do know which one is her – the one in the middle with the big arrow pointing to her.

Week 36 (Sept. 2-8): School Days

#34 Helen Moore

I have written about my great-grandmother’s sister Helen before (back in 2011). Since this week was about tragedy, I though I would share her story again, and include some newspapers articles I’ve found since 2011 that shed some light on what happened to her.

Helen was born March 14, 1895 in Plymouth, Michigan to Fred and Mina (Bolt) Moore. She had an older brother and sister, Glenn and Mae, and a younger brother, Earl.

Helen Moore, at left, c1897

Written on the back of the photo by oldest brother Glenn

Helen was 2-3 years old when she was photographed with her sister and younger brother, shown above. An article from the Northville Record from Friday, April 28, 1899 says, “The four-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Moore of Plymouth was seriously burned in that village last week Friday. Her clothes caught from a burning bon-fire near which she was playing.” So that would mean the accident occurred on Friday, April 21, 1899.

Another article from the April 28, 1899 issue of the Yale Expositor also said she was burned when her clothes caught fire from a bonfire. That paper said, however, that “she may live but will be disfigured for life.”

Helen died on May 1, 1899 at about six in the morning in Plymouth, MI. Her death certificate says she suffered a severe burn 10 days before.  The disease causing death was listed as a sympathetic fever, which she had been enduring for 48 hours, and the immediate cause of death was listed as a hemorrhage.

Week 34 (Aug. 19-25): Tragedy

#31 George E. Bolt

My great-great grandmother Mina A. (Bolt) Moore Thompson had 2 brothers. The first was George E. Bolt, born in Plymouth, Michigan in 1861. The second was Isaac, born in 1863 and died in 1865.

George E. Bolt (photo shared by tdanna on Ancestry.com)

George Edwin Bolt was born January 20, 1861 in Plymouth, Michigan to William and Mary J. (Everitt) Bolt. George married Mary Emma Quick on September 7, 1880 in Detroit, Michigan (one of the witnesses was an uncle, Matthew Everitt). They had a daughter, Mary (or May) Emma Bolt, in August 1882. In the 1900 census, the family was living on Hubbard Avenue in Detroit and George’s occupation was tinter. According to the Los Angeles City Directory, in 1909 May was the widow of George Calton and the mother of 2 children. She was living in Los Angeles with her parents, where her father George was a shademaker. George Calton had died in Detroit in 1908, so I’m not sure why May and her parents moved to L.A. in 1909. In the 1910 census, George, Mary, May, Alta, and George were living in L.A. and George was listed as an expert tinter at a shade company. The 1911 L.A. City Directory lists George’s employer as the “Whitmore-Talbert Company” and the family was living at 116 W. Ave 34 (which was located less than 1/2 mile from the factory).

An image of the Talbert-Whitmore Company from the 1/1/1921 L.A. Times

The Talbert-Whitmore Company was incorporated in 1904 and moved to its factory at 2620 Lacy Street in L.A. in 1908. In 1921, the company had 50 employees. It was the “largest [factory] west of Chicago devoted exclusively to the manufacture of shade cloth and window shades” (Los Angeles Times, Jan. 1, 1921). Interestingly, the factory has now become a filming location as part of the Lacy Street Production Center. Their website has lots of cool photos of what the factory looks like now, including this one that shows part of the “shade cloth rollers” sign from the middle building above.

The family is listed as living at 58 Goodwin St. in the 1912 Detroit City Directory, so they must have moved back sometime in 1911-1912. so I think they must have moved back to Michigan around this time. May remarried in 1916 to Frederick Covert, moved to Washtenaw County, and had 3 more children.

In 1920, George and his wife Mary were still living at 58 Goodwin, and he was employed as a paint maker at an auto shop. By the 1930 census, they had moved back to Plymouth and were living at 370 Maple. George was finally retired. Mary died on December 3, 1933 at the age of 75. I’m not sure where George was in the 1940 census, but he died on December 30, 1944 in Pittsfield, Washtenaw, Michigan.

Week 31 (July 29-Aug. 4): Brother

#16 William Bolt in Iowa?

I think I may have found my 3rd-great grandfather in an unexpected place. There is a William D. Bolt enumerated in the 1856 Pleasant Township, Wapello County, Iowa census. This William was 21 years old and born in New York (same age and birthplace as my William). He is listed as widowed with no children. This is a surprise. If he had a wife besides my 3rd-great grandmother, it is news to me! He was living with James and Caroline Hyde and their family. James and Caroline had been born in New York, but married in 1847 in Wayne County, Michigan. Their children had been born in Michigan as well.

In the 1860 Federal Census, William was married to Mary J. Everitt (having been married within the year) and living in Plymouth, Wayne, Michigan. In the same census, James and Caroline were living in with their children in Ypsilanti, Wayne County, Michigan.

I haven’t found that the Hydes and Bolts were related, but maybe they came from New York to Michigan together, and then William decided to join them in Iowa for a while before they all returned to Michigan around 1859.

Week 16 (April 15-21): Out of Place