As a child, I knew that my parents were both born and raised in Fresno but I never really thought much about it. We visited a lot - both sets of grandparents lived there and my dad's parents still lived in the house they moved into when he was just a young boy. I loved sitting in his room, looking at all of the pictures and awards on the wall, and imagining what life had been like for him. But that was the extent of it.
But now that I've researched things, I find that many generations on both sides of my family spent the majority of their lives there. Starting with my parents:
Gordon Levy - born in Fresno in 1927. Left for Stanford University in 1944 and never lived in Fresno again.
Geraldine Martin - born in Fresno in 1928. Left for Stanford University in 1946 and never lived in Fresno again.
My paternal grandfather, Sig Levy, was born in Vallejo, California - the story passed down was that his mother went to Vallejo (did his father go, too?) to escape the July heat in Fresno. Is it really that much cooler in Vallejo? I suspect that it was more about Sig's maternal grandmother living in Vallejo at that time. Two of Sig's brothers were born during the winter in Fresno while the other two were born during the summer in Vallejo or San Francisco. Coincidentally, I'm fairly certain that grandma lived in the corresponding city at the time of their births. So, maybe it was less about the heat and more about being near her mother.
Sig brought his bride to Fresno after their marriage in 1919 and the two of them raised their sons, lived their lives there, and are interred at Chapel of the Light Columbarium.
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| I imagine it looked something like this in 1919 |
Sig's parents, Herman Levy and Goldie Benas, were not born in Fresno but lived most of their lives there. And they, too, are both interred at Chapel of the Light, not far from Sig and his brothers.
My maternal grandparents were both born in Fresno:
Earle Laurence Martin was born in 1900 and lived in Fresno until the late 1930's when he and my grandmother divorced. At that time he relocated to Bakersfield. I really have few details about his life from that point forward as he and my mother did not have much contact with each other. Did he move for a job? Did he want to move and Grandma declined or just what happened? Inquiring minds want to know! While he died in Bakersfield, he is buried in Fresno in the same cemetery, Belmont Memorial Park, as many other family members.
Clara Maxine Fitzgerald was born in 1903 in Fresno and lived her ENTIRE life there. Oh wait, I'm lying - she and my mother spent a short amount of time in Oakland after the divorce. I'm really not certain how long they were there - why didn't I ask my mother? Although now that I think about it, I did ask my mother as I was trying to find her in the 1940 census and either she didn't remember the details or was trying to forget. Either way, I never got the information I was seeking. Clara is also buried in Belmont Memorial Park.
Clara and Earle, along with Gerry, lived at 1023 Thorne Avenue in Fresno in 1930. I have a picture of the family, along with Earle's mother, from the early 1930's (I suspect based on my mother's birth in 1928) which I believe is that house.
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| Clara Fitzgerald, Frances Brooks, Earle Martin, Gerry Martin |
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| 1023 Thorne Avenue today |
Earle's parents, Robert Lewis Martin and Frances Maria Brooks, were both born in South Carolina but found their way to Fresno in the late 1880's. In February, 1887 their son, Guy Lewis Martin, was born in Arkansas and their daughter, Pearl, was born in Fresno in December, 1889 so their arrival in Fresno would have been somewhere between those two births. Both are buried in Belmont Memorial Park in Fresno.
Clara's father, Edward Fitzgerald, was born in 1879 in Yolo County. His mother died just 6 years later which left his father alone to raise the children. Mathew Fitzgerald was in Fresno by 1888 as evidenced by the California Voter's Registration. So Edward lived his entire life in Fresno from about the age of 9. After his death in 1968, he was also buried in Belmont Memorial Park.
Clara's mother, Mabel McAboy, was born in 1883 in Illinois but it appears that she moved to Fresno with her family by the early 1890's. What took them there? She, too, spent the rest of her life in Fresno until her death in 1966. She is also buried in Belmont Memorial Park next to Edward.
There are so many other ancestors who lived in Fresno. Did we ever see any of them during our visits there? When I think of Fresno, I think of "old people" as it seemed those were the only people we saw. I haven't been back since 1982 when my grandmother died. However, I now know new cousins, blogging friends, and even high school friends in Fresno. One day I hope to make a visit - I'll visit the historical society and, of course, the cemetery.
I have a lot of roots in Fresno because these folks stayed close to home!
