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: 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: Craft

I've been out of the blogging mode for a few weeks and thus, my brain is a little foggy and out of practice so I'll start back simple this week.

I've written before about my paternal grandmother, Mildred Loraine (Gunzendorfer) Levy, being crafty.  Which as anyone who knew her can attest to, she NEVER came across as crafty and until a few years before her death, I had no idea she ever worked with her hands.  I wrote about it HERE.

Apparently, there were a few of my maternal ancestors who were crafty - my great grandmother, Mabel (McAboy) Fitzgerald and her mother, Rebecca (Waller) McAboy.  Their craft of choice was quilting!  I am always in awe when I see hand made quilts and while I don't have that gene in my body, I'm proud to be the owner of some of their quilts.

I am nearly positive that this quilt was crafted by my maternal great grandmother, Mabel Viola (McAboy) Fitzgerald.  Mabel was alive until I was almost 12 years old and I remember her quite clearly.  She was the type of grandmother children would be thrilled to know- interested in what we were doing, patient, and loving.  I can remember many a day being sick on the couch covered by this quilt.  I'm sure I knew that it was crafted by my great grandmother and could feel her arms wrapped around me, instantly making me feel better.

Handmade by Mabel Viola (McAboy) Fitzgerald

Mabel Viola (McAboy) Fitzgerald

I'm not nearly as confident but I think this was also Mabel's handiwork.

I can't imagine the endless hours spent putting these two quilts together.

The quilting gene must have been passed down to her from her mother, Rebecca Mariah (Waller) McAboy.  Rebecca was the daughter of my favorite ancestor, Emery Waller.  While I've not seen a photo of Emery, I can almost visualize (my dad's favorite expression) him when I look into Rebecca's eyes.  And thanks again to my cousin, Kris, for sharing this photo with me!

Rebecca Moriah (Waller) McAboy
c. 1920

In 2012, we cleaned out the storage unit where my parents had been storing things for 30 years, never to see the light of day.  I was amazed that these quilts were in such great condition considering they'd just been thrown into a cardboard box.  Fortunately my mother was still living and she was able to tell me "I think these were made by Mabel's mother, Rebecca".  So I have no confirmation but I just have to believe Mabel's craft gene was passed down from her mother.  Once I got the quilts home I took them to the dry cleaners and since I've had them home, I have not wanted to take them out of the plastic bags.  I know it's not the best preservation method but it's much better than a cardboard box!

I've done some crafting over the years but these days, I've all but given it up.  Sadly, the quilting gene has died in our family as none of us ever got the bug.

52 Ancestors: Sister

I'm just coming up for air after several weeks trying to sort out some computer issues - mainly, my laptop stopped working and I decided to take some time to decide what to do about it.  I've been thinking about a new computer and decided that this was the time to make it happen.  My old laptop was still running on Windows 7 - I'm still working out the kinks but I have now managed to get all of my documents and photos off of the old computer and on to the new one.  I still have some programs to move over but have to think through that before I move forward.

I last wrote about Brothers in my tree and I don't want to stop without acknowledging the sisters in my tree.

The oldest photo I have of a sister is my great grandmother, Bertha Schwartz, and her older brother, Joseph.  Two younger brothers, Milton and Colman, followed but for a time it was just Joseph and Bertha.

Rebecca (Steen), Joseph, Bertha, Louis Schwartz
c. 1876

Bertha's oldest child was my grandmother, Mildred Loraine (Gunzendorfer) Levy.  And then came younger brother, Wilton Gunzendorfer.  This is how I remember them and while Loraine always seemed stern to me, she also loved to smile!

Wilt and Loraine (Gunzendorfer) Levy
1980

Loraine's dad was one of four boys so no sisters and my grandfather was also one of four boys.  Of course, my dad wasn't a sister nor did he have a sister so that's all the sisters I can share from that side of the family.  

I remember my mom's grandmother so well.  She was so sweet and always seemed happy to see us.  However, I never, EVER thought about her being a sister and until I started this quest, I really knew nothing about her family.  But along the way I have learned quite a bit about her (her grandfather was one of my favorite ancestors, Emery Waller).  And through this journey I've also "met" some cousins who have been so kind as to share some photos with me.

Thank you, Kris, for this beautiful photo of our great grandmothers, Lilly (McAboy) Langworthy and Mabel (McAboy) Fitzgerald!

Lilly Gay (McAboy) Langworthy - 1867-1949
Mabel Viola (McAboy) Fitzgerald - 1883-1996

Mabel's daughter and my grandmother, Clara Maxine (Fitzgerald) Martin Hunter, was a sister but why didn't I know much about this?  I remember her brother, Stanley, and even met him a few times.  I might remember hearing about a sister but did I ever meet her?  Are there any pictures of them two of them together?  All I really know is her name, Viola Marie (Fitzgerald) Feuerstein Crawford.  I've connected with some of her descendants and would really like to learn more about her.  So for now, I'll just have to leave it to my imagination as to how the two sisters spent their free time.

Photo by simpleinsomnia

And then came my mom, sister to no one as she was the only child of Clara (Fitzgerald) and Earle Martin.  After their divorce, they both remarried and while Clara had no children, Earle did have some more children whom I never met.  In fact, my mother once told me that she remembers only meeting them once.  But if she HAD been a sister, I'm sure she would have been a great one.  Just look at her sitting there so angelic - I can just imagine her saying "if only I were a sister".

Geraldine Martin, 1930

And that leads me to my own sister.  For nearly 7 years we were the only children in the family so as you can imagine, there were quite a few photos of us together over the years.  Here's a few of my favorites.

Hope we didn't catch any flies in those open mouths!

Sisters, 1957

Dad captioned this "Greatest Photo Ever Taken".  I think he just might have been right.

How 'bout those bangs?

Out of all the slides my husband scanned for us after the death of my parents, this was the jewel!

Were we cute or WHAT?

As the years have gone by, we don't get to see each other too often but one of my favorite memories was the family trip to Kauai before Mom died.  What a gift to have spent an entire week with Mom, my siblings, and our spouses.  I can't believe we didn't capture more photos but this might have just been the last time we were all together with Mom.

With our Mama!

No matter the distance, there's always a special bond between sisters!

Memories of Mom

If there is one person in our lives we should be thinking of today it is our Mother - the person who gave us life.  I realize we celebrate all mothers but really, if not for our own mother where would we be?  But Mother's Day seems to have a different meaning now that my mother is no longer with us and the memories just swirl around in my head.  So today I celebrate my mother, Geraldine Martin.

This is the earliest photo I've found of her - I'm guessing she was about 6 months old.  Look at those cute little shoes!

Geraldine Martin, c. 1928

And recently I've discovered some new photos in the small envelope her father held on to throughout his life.  They were not close so that fact that he kept them all those years makes it so special.  He even wrote on the back - not just the name but sometimes, the date and place.  After his death, his wife sent his things to my mother. 

Geraldine Martin
1023 Thorne, Fresno
About 1930

In 1930, my mother was enumerated with her parents at 1023 Thorne in Fresno - she used to tell me that she always remembered that address - and they owned the house.  In 1940, my mother's maternal grandparents, Edward and Mabel (McAboy) Fitzgerald, owned the house and were enumerated there.  My guess is that as my grandparents finalized their divorce, they sold the home to the Fitzgeralds.

And then in July 1931, Mom was hamming it up at the beach.  I think that might be my grandmother watching her.  This photo just brings such a smile to my face.

Geraldine Martin
July, 1931
3 years

I think this is from 1932 - what a little lady with her cute pin curls.

Geraldine Martin
c. 1932

By 1936, Mom was a student at John Muir School - interestingly, I attended John Muir Junior High from 7th-9th grade.  Do I remember that Mom told us she also went to John Muir, albeit a different school?  Mom would have been in 2nd grade - you can see her in the middle row, 6th from the left.

Room No. 6
John Muir School
Feb. 27, 1936

I also found this photo which I thought included Mom - little girl front row, center.  But the more I look at it the more I think it isn't her since the clothes don't look like something from the early 1930's.  Maybe it could be her mother?

And then she fell in love and was engaged to be married - this is the photo used in her engagement announcement in the newspaper.  What a beauty!

Geraldine Martin
1949

And then came kids.   And one of my most treasured photos celebrating not only my mother but HER mother and HER mother. 

Clara Fitzgerald, Geraldine Martin, Mabel McAboy
Sister C. Levy, Me
c. 1960

One of my favorite photos of Mom, also from about 1960.

And then the years marched on by and grandkids and even great grandkids joined the family. 

Mom, Sister, Me
Daughter #2, Daughter #1

And just like that, Mom turned 80!  She was so happy to be able to spend it with the three kids and our spouses.

80 years young - June 8, 2008

And here we are.  Another Mother's Day without her.  And in just 10 days, we will remember her on the 6th anniversary of her death.  And then 17 days later, we will celebrate the day she was born 91 years ago.

The years just continue to march on and I hold the memories close.  Happy Mother's Day, Mom!