52 Ancestors: Handed Down - Twin Mystery

This week's blog prompt, Handed Down, immediately brought to mind many of the items that have been handed down to me by my ancestors.  But since I've written about those so many times, I thought I'd focus on a story that was handed down to me over the years by my mom.  Mom often declared "twins run in the family because my grandmother had twins three times".  And then she would add that each time either neither or just one of the babies survived.  So down the rabbit hole I went to find something - anything - that pointed to that statement being true.  Mom really didn't seem to know much about her family, particularly on her father's side, so was this accurate?

First up, my mother's maternal grandmother, and the only great grandmother I knew, was Mabel Viola (McAboy) Fitzgerald.

Mabel Viola (McAboy) Fitzgerald, c. 1952

The 1910 census is a great place to start.  In fact, it may be the only document that shows the number of children born and the number living in 1910.  I can't be sure if the number "born" includes still births but my gut tells me it would.

1910 United States Census, Township 3, Fresno, California,
Roll: T624_76; Page: 14B; Enumeration District: 33; Image: 485.

That's a little small (you think?) so I cropped it.

And it checks out.  All three children had been born by 1910 (that's my grandmother, Clara) and it shows that Mabel and Edward had been married for 8 years and she had 3 children, all of whom were living.  So, I don't think it was this grandmother.

Next up was Mom's paternal grandmother, Frances Maria (Brooks) Martin.

Frances Maria (Brooks) Martin, c. 1930

Frances was the daughter of William Brooks who was killed in the Civil War at Fredericksburg - I'm sure she had a lot of stories to tell.  But would she have said she had twins three times?

1910 United States Census, Township 3, Fresno, California
Roll: T624_76; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 33; Image: 475.

Too small again but before I move on, it surprised me to see that not only were they in the same Enumeration District as the Fitzgeralds, they were only five pages away - they were neighbors!

And it checks out.  8 children born and 8 children living.  That's my grandfather, Earl(e), at the bottom.  So based on this, I'd say it wasn't Frances that gave birth to twins three times.

I decided to go back another generation, although some of those women were not living at the 1910 census.

Mabel's mother was Rebecca Moriah (Waller) McAboy.

Rebecca (Waller) McAboy

Both Rebecca and her husband, William Warren McAboy, were still living in 1910.

1910 United States Census, Township 3, Fresno, California
Roll: T624_76; Page: 26B; Enumeration District: 29; Image: 362.

While not in the same Enumeration District, they WERE in Fresno!

Again, this checks out.  6 children born and 5 living in 1910 as their oldest son, William L. McAboy, died in 1881 at the age of 17.  So I don't think Rebecca had twins three times.

Edward Fitzgerald's mother was Julia Horgan.  While Julia had seven children, she died in 1885 so no chance to see anything about her in the 1910 census.  And I have been unable to learn much from the children's birth records, when they do exist.  So did Julia have twins three times?  I'm not sure I'll ever know.

Frances' mother was Sarah Jane (Miller) Brooks Anderson.

Sarah Jane (Miller) Brooks Anderson

While Sarah was alive in 1910, I can't find her anywhere in the census.  I'm fairly certain she was in Fresno and I've checked with each of her living children to see if she was living with them - no luck.

I can account for seven children - four with her first husband, William Brooks, and three with her second husband, John Hayward Anderson.  But I can't be sure if any of those were multiple births.  I need to find her in the 1910 census!

And last, but not least, was Earle's paternal grandmother, Millicent Emilene (Moore) Martin.  Since Millicent died in 1884, I have nothing to go on in 1910.  I know that she had eight children overall but nothing to confirm whether any of those were multiple births.

So where does that leave me?  Not much farther along than I was before.  But I'll keep working on it!

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: Father’s Day

Today is Father’s Day in the United States – a day that each year is a difficult reminder that my dad has been gone another year.  I still see the Father’s Day cards in the store and it punches me in the gut to know that once again, I won’t buy one. 

But there is another father whom I don’t know much about, my maternal grandfather, Earle Laurence Martin.  I have a lot of dates and places saved to my tree but I have almost no memories of him as my mother was a bit estranged from him throughout my lifetime.  Sure, we received Christmas greetings each year (and, I’m assuming, birthday greetings) but I only remember a visit with him once, maybe when I was about 10-12 years old. 

Earle was born 23 Jul 1900 in Fresno, California, and was the youngest child born to Robert Lewis Martin and Francis “Fannie” Brooks.  When I first started researching, I connected with someone who said she had seen both 1900 and 1901 for his birth date but after asking my mother (and getting a copy of both his birth and death certificate), I am certain that the year was 1900. 

Being that Earle was born after the 1900 census was conducted, the first time I found him was in 1910 when he lived on Palm Avenue in Fresno with his parents and five of his seven siblings (Lillie, Pearl, Nellie, Dessie, and Ethel – William and Guy were living outside the home).  My mom always told me his father’s name was Guy but I think somewhere along the line she got mixed up and remembered his older brother rather than his father.

On 12 Sep 1918, Earle registered for World War I in Fresno County.  He listed his address as Route E, Box 37, Fresno and his occupation as a Clerk, California Peach Growers.  His next of kin was his father, Robert L. Martin, at the same address.

By 1920, Earle was living on Maple Avenue in Fresno with his parents and Nellie, Guy, and Ethel.  And new to the household was his maternal grandmother, Sarah Miller Brooks Anderson.  I’ve written about Sarah HERE and HERE.

On 23 Jun, 1923, Earle was married to my grandmother, Clara Maxine Fitzgerald.  During the 1924-1926 time frame, it appears that they were living at both 1335 Glenn Avenue, Fresno, and 2844 Liberty, Fresno.  Earle was an Inspector at Burroughs Adding Machine and by 1925, Clara was a Purchasing Agent (that’s the first I’ve heard of that).

The 1930 census brought changes as by that time their only child, Geraldine Martin (my mother), was born and the young family was living at 1023 Thorne, Fresno.  Living with them was Ruby Jones, a servant.  What?  I realize my mother was just a toddler at the time but I don’t remember her ever mentioning a servant in the household. 

Earle Martin and Geraldine Martin, 1928

My mother always remembered the Thorne Avenue address and I had a memory of that address, as well.  But it wasn’t until today that I connected the dots - by 1940, Clara’s parents, along with her sister and two nieces, were living at that address.  I’ve been unsuccessful finding Earle in the 1940 census but I know that by that time, he and Clara had divorced and Clara and my mother were living in Oakland.  So my assumption is that when Earle and Clara divorced, they either sold the house (or Clara’s parents were renting it to them) because the 1940 census shows Edward and Mabel (McAboy) Fitzgerald owned the house. 

Clara Fitzgerald, Francis Brooks, Geraldine Martin, Earle Martin

Was this 1023 Thorne Avenue?

I know that in 1937, Earle and Clara (with my mother, I’m sure) were still on Thorne Avenue.  But the next few years go cold and I haven’t found them.  And then by 1940 they were divorced so my guess is that they divorced during that missing time frame.

I have this photo of Mom with her dad in 1937 – were they still a family or was this a special time together?  I wish I knew.

On 14 Feb, 1941, Earle was remarried to Verda Nelson in Las Vegas.  And then exactly a year later, Earle registered for the World War II draft and listed his address as 131 Highlands Drive, Bakersfield.  His sister, Nell, was listed as Next of Kin and I was treated to a description of him:  5feet 9 1/2 inches, 170 pounds, hazel eyes, brown hair, and light complexion.  He was employed by Burroughs Adding Machine, Fresno.  But no mention of Verda?  I know they remained married until his death in 1986 but not sure why she wouldn’t show up here.

I know that Verda brought two children into the marriage, whom Earle adopted, and together they had two more children.  Since one of these children is still living, I will refrain from providing details but I don’t believe I ever met any of these children.  I’m somewhat connected to the youngest, who is close to my sister’s age, and I hope in the future we can share information.  I am a picture junkie and would just love to see Earle later in life.

Earle died 11 Oct 1986 and is buried in Belmont Memorial Park, Fresno, California.

And that’s about all I know about my maternal grandfather, Earle Laurence Martin.  While I know so much about my other grandparents, I wish I could say the same about Earle.