52 Ancestors: Mother's Day - Mabel Viola McAboy

This week's blog prompt is Mother's Day.  I've written a lot about the mothers in my life - you can read some of them at Memorial Tributes  The Mothers in My Life  Meet My Grandparents  Memories of Mom - but this time I'm going to focus on my maternal great grandmother, Mabel Viola McAboy.

Mabel was the sixth (and youngest) child of William Warren McAboy and Rebecca Waller.  Years and years ago I sent away for Mabel's birth record and once I received it, I stuck it in a file for "later" (you've done the same thing, right?) and today is finally "later".  Back in 1883, the birth was hand noted in a "register" that seemed much like the old financial ledgers we used 50 years ago.  

Yep, that's her - born 6 June 1883 in Clinton, Illinois to Maria Rebecca (I've always seen it Rebecca Moriah) Waller McAboy and Wm. W. McAboy.  Interesting to see that she was the sixth child.  I have record of all six children, although the oldest, William L., died in 1881 at the age of 17.

I recently was given a photo of Mabel from a cousin I connected with - it is so wonderful to see her as a young woman because, of course, I only knew her as an older woman.  I think she's beautiful!

Sometime around Mabel's 4th birthday, the family moved from Clinton, Illinois to Fresno, California.  I can't imagine what it was like to move halfway across the country with five children.  Did they take a train?  What took them there?

The first time Mabel shows in the census is 1900 (darn that missing 1890 census!) where she is living in Fresno with her parents and brother, John.

November 18, 1901 marked the marriage of Mabel and my great grandfather, Edward Francis Fitzgerald.  One interesting note is that the two honeymooned at a cottage at Copper King Mine - you can read about it HERE  - but I've added the photo of the honeymoon cottage below.  Quite the spot!

Fresno Bee Republican, December 3, 1961

Their first child, my grandmother, was born 22 January, 1903 and two children followed within the next few years.

By 1910, the family was complete and living in Fresno on Butler Avenue, although the census shows Butter Avenue.  And in 1920, they were all still together on Dwight Way.

One thing I've learned about this family is that they moved around - a lot.  In 1924 they were at 3844 Liberty, in 1930 they were at 3833 Lyell, 1932 back to Liberty, 1934 at 338 Michigan, and by 1940 at 1023 Thorne Avenue.  Some of those addresses found their youngest child, Stanley, with them so I can't be sure if he was living with them or they were living with him.

I loved Mabel dearly but I do recall that she always looked a little stern as evidenced here with her first great grandchild, my sister.

Mabel (McAboy) Fitzgerald and my big sister

And in the blink of an eye, Mabel died on 12 November, 1966.  She was the first person close to me who died - I remember that I didn't know what to say or do.  There was a nice service for her but I don't even remember if we attended or not.  You can read about it at the Memorial Tribute link above.

Interesting to see that her mother is listed as Rebekah M. - the spelling is something I've not seen before.

RIP, Mabel Viola McAboy Fitzgerald, my great grandmother.

52 Ancestors: Close to Home - Fresno

Many of my ancestors stayed close to home.  I'm sure it was fairly common back in the "olden" days but these ancestors are more current.  And so many of them stayed close to the same home - Fresno, California.

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. 

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.

Clara Fitzgerald, Frances Brooks, Earle Martin, Gerry Martin

Do you think it's the same house?  I know, hard to tell.

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!

52 Ancestors: Ten

This week’s blog prompt had me scratching my head.

“Let's change things up a bit with a theme that is especially ambiguous: "Ten." Ten what? Someone who had 10 children? Someone with 10 letters in their name? Someone who was in the 10th Infantry? Someone who was born in October? #10 on your ancestor chart? (That would be your paternal grandmother's father, if you number it the standard way.) “

Unfortunately, none of that spoke to me.  Hmmm. 

Wait, I’ve got an idea.  How about the 10th letter of the alphabet?  A, B, C…..J.  Okay, that’s it.  Let’s pick an ancestor with a name starting with J.  And that’s when I thought of my second great grandmother, Julia Horgan.

I don’t know much about Julia and after several hours of research, I’m no further along than I was before.  But I can share what I do know and hope that something along the way will spark a memory.

Several years ago I connected with a cousin, Patti, who also descended from Julia Horgan so we shared some notes and a photo or two and then the unthinkable happened and Patti was taken from us.  I wrote about it HERE.  How I wish Patti were here so we could talk again.  My hunch is that we still would be no further along but at least we sure would have had fun talking through it.

Julia was born in Derryleagh, Cork, Ireland in 1849 to Jeremiah Horgan and Margaret “Maggie” Callahan.  She was the 5th of 7 children of the couple – four older brothers (Michael, Cornelius, Andrew, John) and two younger sisters (Mary and Nora).

Julia married Matthew Fitzgerald in, I believe, June, 1869 in Black Station, Yolo County, California.  Julia and Matthew were living in Grafton, Yolo County, in 1870 where Julia was keeping house and Matthew was a Laborer.

By 1880, the family had grown – boy had it grown!



It’s hard to see but there with Matthew and Julia were the first of 7 children – John (b1871), Jeremiah (b1873), Nicholas (b1875), Mary Margaret (b1877), and Edward Francis (b 1879).  This is an especially meaningful census for me as Edward was my great-grandfather, a lovely man whom I remember well.  Two more children would join the family – Joseph (b1881) and Anna Teresa (b1883).  Those two children are also special as Joseph was Patti’s grandfather and I was always told that my middle name was in honor of Anna, my mother’s great aunt whom she lived with for several years.

But just a few years later, Julia was gone.  She died 4 Aug 1885 in Black, Yolo County.  I have no idea of any specifics but it’s not for lack of trying.  I just sealed the envelope requesting a copy of the death certificate which might give me more information.  Fingers crossed.

I did find an interesting article.



Julia is buried in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Woodland, Yolo County, California.  I think she is beside Matthew as both show in Row 26-S, although Matthew shows he is in Plot 3 and Julia shows in Section 3.  One day I need to walk the cemetery and see for myself.