52 Ancestors: Unforgettable - Cut Out Faces

This week's blog prompt - Unforgettable - brought so many memories to mind of unforgettable events in my life.  I couldn't nail down what I wanted to write about so I took a tour of the slides my dad took that I recently discovered and had copied - surely that would bring some great memories to mind.  And it was then that I noticed a theme - cut out faces.  You know, those 'props' you see at amusement parks and other places with a background painted and the face is cut out so people can put their face in and pose for a photo.  I don't know if they have a 'real' name but I'm calling them cut out faces.  

As kids we used to make the drive from San Jose to Disneyland - about 400 miles - and we always made a stop at Andersen's Split Pea Restaurant in Buellton.  Dad captured our visit in 1959 and took a few photos.

Sister and me

Mom

Dad - must have let someone else use the camera

This must have been a few years later and might have been at Knott's Berry Farm.  I guess this is technically a 'cut out legs' photo.  Sister is rocking the sun glasses!

We also used to spend some time at Frontier Village, a western themed park near our home in San Jose.  Little brother got into the act!

Brother - c. 1964

We might have taken our oldest daughter for a visit as I'm not sure where else this might have been.  Hands up!

c. 1979

In 1987, we made a trip from Washington to San Jose to Disneyland and then drove north to get back home to Washington.  I seem to remember some sort of Cabbage Patch Kid museum or park - of course we had to have a cut out faces photo of our daughters in the cabbage patch.

And then grandchildren got into the act at a nearby pumpkin farm.

Thomasson Family Farm, c. 2009

Oops, a big kid made it into the picture.

I'm sure I have many more cut out faces but this was a fun start.  It's given me a nudge to get back to organizing photos.

52 Ancestors: Troublemaker - Emery McAboy

This week's blog prompt brought to mind my "black sheep ancestor", William Warren McAboy, who I wrote about HERE nearly 10 years ago.  But as I pondered on it further, I thought about his young son who was once the "troublemakerED" (I made up a new word) - Emery James McAboy.

Emery was born 22 Jan 1870 in Clinton, Illinois.  I am guessing his first name comes from his grandfather and one of my favorite ancestors, Emery Waller.  If you've been with me awhile you'll remember that it was Emery Waller who I was able to obtain a headstone for.  You can read about that HERE.  And, perhaps, his middle name came from his paternal grandfather, James Robert McAboy.  Emery was the third child of Rebecca (Waller) and William Warren McAboy and the older brother of my great grandmother, Mabel (McAboy) Fitzgerald.  

Emery's father assaulted him on 11 Sep 1889 and the event made several newspapers on 13 Sep 1889.

The Clinton Public, Friday, September 13, 1889, page 3

Decatur Daily Dispatch, Friday, September 13, 1889, page 2

Clinton Register, Friday, September 13, 1889, page 3, part 1

Clinton Register, Friday, September 13, 1889, page 3, part 2

And then the courts got involved - I can imagine the feeling in the city was bitterness against William.

The Clinton Public, Friday, September 20, 1889, page 3

And finally, just two weeks after the incident, William was fined $200 for striking his son for going to a ball game without his father's consent.  

Clinton Register, Friday, September 27, 1889, page 3

Fortunately, from what I can tell Emery went on to live a meaningful life but I do wonder how this incident affected him.

Today I found new information - Emery was married to Nellie Hatch on 12 October, 1893 in Clinton, Illinois and at some point in 1900 the couple relocated to Fresno.  I believe that together they had a daughter, Laverne McAboy.  I knew about Laverne before today but I had no idea Nellie existed until I found Emery and Nellie's divorce record from 5 April 1906.

Tulare-Advance Register, Thursday, April 5, 1906, page 3

Now what made this even more interesting is that Emery was then married to India Slawson just two days later, on 7 April, 1906 (California, County Birth, Marriage and Death Records 1849-1980).  It looks like Emery and Nellie had been separated for awhile, especially when I found that Nellie was married to Thomas Key on 14 April, 1906 (California, County Birth, Marriage and Death Records 1849-1980)  Boy wouldn't I love to know the story behind the divorce and those two marriages.

Together Emery and India had two more daughters, Eloise in 1907 and Maurine in 1912, and stayed in Fresno throughout their married lives.

And then, as it always happens, Emery died on 18 Feb 1929 at the age of just 59 years old.

Fresno Morning Republican, Wednesday. February 20, 1919, page 16

The second obituary puzzles me for two reasons.

Fresno Morning Republican, Tuesday, February 19, 1929, page 9

M'Aboy???  Where did that come from?  From now on when I search for the name McAboy I'll have to also use M'Aboy - no wonder it was nearly impossible for me to initially find this obituary.

And Emery JOHN?  Everything I've seen shows his middle name as James so where did this come from?  

Emery was cremated and I have been unable to find any information on his final resting place.  I'll need to contact Lisle funeral home, who has taken care of arrangements for many of my family members over the years, to see if they can give me any information.  Or, maybe the death certificate will show it so I'll order that.

While Emery was not the actual troublemaker, he sure had to endure his troublemaker father.  

52 Ancestors: Small - Tuxedo

This week's blog prompt had me puzzled at first - what could I write about that fit in the category of small?  And then it came to me - this tuxedo!

If you've followed my blog over the years, you'll remember that back in 2012 I Got Stuff - lots and lots of stuff.  So much stuff I'm still going through it and for things I have gone through, I can't keep track of everything I have.  But one thing I do remember is this very small tuxedo.

When I found the tuxedo, it was wadded up and I don't remember if it was in a box, a bag, or just where it was but I loaded it into the car and brought it home.  It wasn't too long before I realized I needed to do my best at preserving it so I (reluctantly) took it to the dry cleaners and had them clean it for me.  And then I hung it in the closet for all these years.  Until I saw this blog prompt and remembered it and thought it would be the perfect time to share my discovery.

Also, if you've followed my blog you know that my paternal grandfather, Sigmund Levy, was small.  So small, in fact, that he talked about it in the letter of November 9, 1918 that he wrote to his future wife (my grandmother) about his time as a Flying Cadet.

From now on I fly every morning so wish me luck.  I have the same instructor every day.  I can't reach the rudder control without stretching a lot so I am having a pillow seat made.  They seem to think that I won't have any trouble flying and there are a lot of pillow aviators down here.

Who knew there were pillow aviators?  And then this from November 12, 1918.

I know you will be glad to hear this.  This morning I was taken temporarily out of the air on account of my height.  I have been flying fine but my instructor, who is a prince, and I had a serious talk on the field yesterday and he advised that I quit because I'll not be able to reach the controls.  I quite agreed with him so he took it up with the Major and this morning I was told verbally that I needn't fly this morning.

When he registered for World War II, he was listed as 5 feet 1 inch.  So yeah, I'd say he was pretty short. 

The National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; World War II Draft Cards (4th Registration) for the State of California; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147

Although I can't be certain, the fact that this tuxedo is small and was kept all those years by my packrat grandparents, I have to believe it was Sig's tuxedo.  Try as I might I haven't found a photo of him wearing the tuxedo but with so many things to go through, I might still find something.  In his letters to my grandmother right before their wedding he did talk a bit about buying a suit for their wedding but since he commented that it was brown, I don't think this was his wedding suit.  But maybe it was for a different wedding?

Let's take a closer look.  Here's the jacket.

And a close up of the label inside.

Hart Schaffner & Marx was founded in 1877 by two brothers, Harry and Max Hart, in Chicago and was the first company to introduce suits tailored for different body types - in this case, small.  The date confirms that it could have been Sig's since he wasn't born until 1888.  I'm going to contact the company and see if they can give me any information about this garment.

The vest looks pretty small.

I don't know why this looks blue

And a close up of the lapels.  One side looks pretty good.

The other side not so much.

I'm not giving up on finding a photo of Sig in this tuxedo but even without the "proof", I feel fairly confident that it was his.  Thanks again, Grandma & Grandpa, for being packrats!

52 Ancestors: Large - Marks Schwartz

Marks Schwartz was the older brother of my great grandmother, Bertha Schwartz Gunzendorfer.  According to this news article, he was born on 22 March 1870.

Santa Cruz Weekly Sentinel
March 26, 1870, page 2

But according to his headstone, he was born on 23 March 1870.

Marks Schwartz
Brother Colman Schwartz
Home of Eternity Cemetery
Oakland, California

Marks Schwartz died at the age of just 7 years old.  So why, you might be thinking, is she focusing on a young boy of 7 with the blog prompt of LARGE?

Marks Schwartz has been LARGER than life for me this past week as I've learned a lot about him quite accidentally.  As part of my Top 10 Genealogical Finds of 2017, I wrote about my #1 find which was a book written about the Jews of Santa Cruz.  You can read about it HERE.  What a thrill to read about my peeps and the more I research, the more some of the other Jewish families are taking shape for me.

The author of the book, George Fogelson, has been working on a new book about the cemeteries in Santa Cruz and although my 'direct' ancestors aren't buried there, we've had some conversations about the history of the cemeteries.  So a week or two ago, George sent me a draft of his book and asked for any comments or revisions - I was thrilled to be able to help.

We've all had a case of Genealogical Serendipity and the day after George sent me the draft, a friend of my sister's posted on Facebook about her ancestors who were prominent in Santa Cruz and who were buried in the cemetery.  What?  Here I had the draft in my hand (okay, computer screen) and as she described her ancestors I WAS READING ABOUT THEM IN THE BOOK!  How's that for timing?  I was able to connect her with George, she shared new information with him, and he quickly added her information to the book.

Now you're probably wondering how that relates to Marks Schwartz?  George and I 'discussed' Marks which caused me to look closer at his headstone - why after all these years and a personal visit to his grave did I think he was born in 1873 when it clearly states 1870?

One thing led to another and George discovered that Marks was included in the document Voices of the Heart: Memorial Poems from the Diphtheria Epidemic of 1876-1878 by Phil Reader.  But it hadn't connected with him because he was listed as Marksey Schwartz!  So this told me that Marks did, in fact, die from Diphtheria.

I wish I had a photo of Marks.  The Schwartz family seemed to take more photos than most of that time and I have a few which are unidentified - could this young boy be Marks?

I have a photo from 1890 of Marks' brother, Colman.

Colman Schwartz, 1890

I also have this unidentified photo from the same studio and looks to be the same clothes - could this be Marks and then Colman wore the same clothes in 1890?  Or is it Colman?

Sadly, I'm not sure I'll ever know but I'll keep hoping.

Marks Schwartz, you are not forgotten.