Albert, Pearl, Albert Jr, Louis, Henry, Hugh, Barbara, Gladys, Anna.
6429 Scotten, Detroit, Michigan
In 1940 my grandparents and family were living at 6429 Scotten at the corner of Moore Place. They owned the house and it was worth $5,000. They had lived in the same place in 1935 and in fact had been there for over 20 years as all the girls in the family were born in that house. My grandfather was a medical doctor in private practice at the Cleage Clinic. The amount of money he made in 1939 was a crossed out number, replaced with “0”. He was the informant, that is he is the one that talked to the census taker and gave them the information on the form.
My grandfather was 56 years old, born in Tennessee with plus 5 years of college. My grandmother was 50, born in Kentucky with 4 years of high school. My father was 28, born in Indiana, had plus 5 years of college and was absent from the home. All the other children were born in Michigan. Louis was 26, had plus 5 years of college and absent from the home. Henry was 24 and had 5 years of college. Hugh was 21 and had 2 years of college. Barbara was 19 and had completed 1 year of college. Gladys was 17 and had completed 4 years of high school. Anna was 15 and had completed 2 years of high school.
All of the children were in school. Anna was still attending Northwestern High school. Gladys had graduated in 1939 and was a freshman at Wayne State University. Henry, Hugh and Barbara must have been at Wayne. Louis graduated from Wayne State medical school in 1940 and was doing a residency at Homer Philips in St. Louis. My father graduated from Wayne in 1938 and was in the seminary at Oberlin College.
Source: 1940 U.S. Census. State: Michigan. County: Wayne. City: Detroit. Ward 14. Enumeration Districe: 84-787. Sheet number: 11-A. Head of household and informant: Dr. Albert B. Cleage. To see the census sheet for the Albert Cleage family click HERE.
I hadn’t realized that one of my grandmother sisters and all of my grandfather’s living siblings lived within walking distance of their house. I have labeled their houses, Northwestern High School, Wingert Elementary School and the Cleage Clinic. I sort of knew this, but I didn’t realize it until I mapped it out after finding everybody in the same neighborhood. In future posts I will share what I learned about each household in 1940.
My Aunt Gladys sent word this weekend that my parents did, indeed, spend some time in Michigan before moving on to Springfield. These photographs are in an album and labeled “En Route to Springfield.” Most of them were taken in Idlewild, at my Uncle Louis’ cottage. There were only a couple taken in Detroit, all of my cousin Dee Dee and her mother, Mary Vee in my Graham grandparents yard. My father may have been taking the photographs in Idlewild, because he doesn’t appear in any of them. Henry and Hugh are not in the photos because, I suppose, they were still on the farm.
Grandfather Dr. Albert B. Cleage Sr.
Grandmother Pearl Reed Cleage
My mother Doris, Aunt Gladys, Lillian Payne (family friend), Aunt Barbara, Aunt Anna
Uncle Louis, Aunt Gladys, my mother Doris in the boat “Sassy Suzy”
Idlewild, Mich. 1945 Anna, Doris, Gladys, Louis, Paul, Barbara
Idlewild, Mich. 1945 Doris, Anna, Lillian Payne. Lillian was Paul and George Payne’s sister.
My mother, Doris
The Idlewild Clubhouse
In Detroit my cousin Dee Dee reads to her mother Aunt Mary Vee Elkins
While trying to identify the people in the hat photo, I looked through my stash and found more photographs with some of the same people. They might have been taken at the same time, but might not have. Several other people were also included. On the back of one was written “Dr. Turner”.
The women are my grandmother Pearl Cleage, Melzetta Gamble, lady in the polka dot hat, Leota Turner. Men are Dr. Alexander Turner and my grandfather Albert Cleage.
I wrote this earlier post which mentions Dr. Turner, “Births, Deaths, Doctors and Detroit – part 2“. It was about the doctors that delivered three of my grandmother Fannie Graham’s babies and was with her two sons when they died. So, I figured that I KNEW Dr. Turner but I decided to look some more anyway. And I thought maybe the lady in the polka dot hat was his wife. Using Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, google maps, books and search along with newspaper articles found at GenealogyBank.com I was able to put together the following picture of Dr. Alexander Turner. And I did find his wife but it wasn’t the woman in the polka dot hat.
The “Michigan Manual of Freedmen’s Progress” published in 1915 to”celebrate 50 years of freedom for the former Negro slaves of this nation…” had this to say,
“Turner, Alexander L., M.D., 1042 W. Warren, Detroit. Born in Georgia. Graduate of the medical department of the University of Michigan. Started his practice in Detroit, 1910 and became highly successful in the treatment of diseases peculiar to women and children. Dr. Turner is also a Pharmacist and is the proprietor of two drugstores in the city of Detroit.”
In the 1900 census Alexander L. Turner was a 16 year old boarder living in Ravenna, Ohio. The head of the household was Frederick Loudin who was 64 years old, occupation listed as “Showman”. The others making up the household were: Wife, Harriett, age 54. No children. No occupation. Sister, Adeline Henson 54, widowed with one child and occupation housekeeper. Niece, Leota Henson 33, single with no children, occupation Musician. Alexander’s occupation was “at school.”
Frederick and Harriett Loudin. Click to see more photos.
Alexander graduated from the Ravenna high school in 1904 and then attended Buchtel College in Acron, Ohio. An article in The Gazette, a black newspaper out of Cincinnati, Ohio, ran a short article about Turner’s graduation it read.
“Graduation Present
Alexander Turner was made a graduation present of fifty dollars in gold by F.J. Loudin and wife. Alexander came here from the south a few years ago. He worked at the Loudin home and went to school. He proved to be one of the brightest students that ever attended the Ravenna schools and he was a faithful worker for the Loudins. For his faithfulness he received the reward mentioned above on Tuesday.
The commencement exercises of the high school were held recently in the First Congregational church (white) and Alexander Leigh Turner, one of the few Afro-American graduates who has completed the courses and received a diploma from the schools, fairly thrilled his hearers by his oration on “The Negro and His Progress” forcible and eloquently delivered.”
Later Alexander took the name “Loudin” as his middle name. I can only suppose it was in honor of the Frederick J. Loudin. This story ran on July 2, 1904. On November 3 of the same year Frederick J. Loudin died. His wife, Harriett, died later that same year.
In April of 1905 while a student at Buchtel College Turner and Harry Proctor sued the Ravenna Rollar Rink Co. under the Ohio Civil Rights Law for refusing to allow them to skate after selling them tickets for skating. They won the suit.
After graduating from Buchtel College Turner enrolled in the University of Michigan Medical College. On September 16, 1908 twenty seven year old Alexander L. Turner married 45 year old Leota F. Henson in Ann Arbor Michigan. Leota’s mother lived with them at 603 Catherine St. The house is still there.
In 1912 Turner graduated and the family moved to Detroit where he began to practice medicine. On his WW1 draft registration card he is described as 5 ft. 8 inches, slender with brown eyes and black hair. He lived at 1042 Warren Ave. West and practiced at 287 Saint Antoine St. down the block from Dr. Gambles office. All these places are long gone, urban renewed decades ago.
In 1918 Turner was one of the founders of Dunbar Hospital where he was the chief of surgery. You can read more about the founding of Dunbar in the post mentioned earlier, “Births, Deaths, Doctors and Detroit – part 2”. In that post I also described what the Turner’s suffered when they attempted to move into a house on Spokene Ave, into a white community on Detroit’s west side. At that time some white men forced their way into the house, put a gun to Turner’s head and demanded he sign the house over to them. He did. He and his wife and mother-in-law, were escorted out of the house, their furniture was packed in a van by the mob and in a hail of thrown objects that shattered the windshield, they drove back to their house on W. Warren where they resumed life. Can you imagine the rage, the shame and the helplessness they must have felt as they drove away from that house? I don’t have the address of the house on Spokene, but here is a photograph from google maps that shows houses in that area today.
All of this happened not very far from the Cleages house on Scotten (which was in a black neighborhood), from my grandfather’s Cleage Clinic on Lovett and Mcgraw, the high school my father and his siblings attended and even closer to 5397 Oregon where my family lived in the 1960’s. I’ve marked the places on the map below.
The gazette in Cleveland ran a lengthy article on July 11, 1925 in which they talk about the incident and also a short item supporting the Turners. I will just include the short item.
I did not find anything else about the suit so I can’t report if they won any damages or not. Perhaps they were most pleased with Leota Turner because it was reported that she didn’t want her husband to sign the papers, even though he had a gun to his head. It is said some thought him cowardly for doing so.
In June of 1943 Detroit experienced a race riot. Thirty-four people died during that week. A year later Dr. Turner and his wife returned to Ravenna, Ohio where he died of a heart attack at 11pm on August 12. he was 61 years old. His father was listed as Alfred Turner and his mother as Lucy, maiden name unknown. Dr. Alexander Loudin Turner was buried in Maple Grove Cemetery in Ravenna, Ohio, on August 15. Leota Turner was the informant on the death certificate. She lived until 1955. I will tell her story and that of her uncle Frederick Loudin in part 3, which will fit nicely with the Sepia Saturday theme of the theater.
Leota Henson Turner date unknown.Dr. Alexander Turner, 1926
My grandmother, Pearl Doris Reed, was born in Lebanon, Kentucky in 1886. She the youngest of the seven children of Anna Allen Reed. Pearl’s father was Buford Averitt, a white physician. By 1888 Pearl’s oldest brother, George, had moved to Indianapolis Indiana to work at Van Camps cannery. The rest of the family soon followed.
My grandfather Albert Buford Cleage, Sr was born in Louden, Tennessee in 1883. He was the youngest of the five children of Louis and Celia (Rice) Cleage. The family eventually moved to Athens Tennessee. In 1906 he graduated from Knoxville College and moved to Indianapolis to attend Purdue University College of Medicine. Three of his older siblings were already there. He moved in with his brother Jacob and his wife Gertrude. His brother Henry also lived in the house.
Albert and Pearl met at church. They both signed the petition to organize a United Presbyterian Church on April 30, 1907. Pearl sang in the church choir and also at community and church events. By the time I heard her sing she had a frail, old voice. I wish I could have heard her back in her prime. In 1907 Pearl was 21. Albert was 24.
The courtship lasted for three years. Pearl’s mother was against the relationship because she thought Albert was “too dark”. Of course this caused problems with them meeting and going anywhere together. Many letters were exchanged and they met at church functions. Their houses were about 2.3 miles apart. It was a straight trolley ride down N. Illinois in those days. Today that would be a 23 minute ride by bus. I imagine it took a bit longer by trolley in the early 1900s.
As Albert neared the end of his course of study, his thoughts turned to where he would practice and to their marriage. They set the date for October, 1910. He graduated in June and as an intern was appointed to the City Hospital. On September 2 he received his Physicians License and on September 29, 1910 Albert and Pearl applied for a marriage license. Later that day, they were married in a quiet ceremony at Pearl’s house. The Indianapolis Star column “News of Colored Folk” contained this item,
“In the presence of relatives and immediate friends of the two families Dr. Albert B. Cleage, Intern at the City Dispensary and Miss Pearl D. Reed, 2730 Kenwood Avenue were married at noon Thursday. The Rev. D.F. White of the Witherspoon United Presbyterian Church officiated. Immediately after the ceremony Dr. and Mrs. Cleage left on their wedding tour, during which they will visit the Appalachian Exposition at Knoxville, Tenn., and points farther south.” The points farther south would have been his family’s home in Athens, Tennessee.
Another piece News of Colored Folk, dated Oct. 2, 1910 said, “The Witherspoon United Presbyterian Church and Sunday school gave a linen shower Friday evening in honor of Dr. and Mrs. Albert Cleage at the home of Mr. and Mrs. R.A. Kelley 1917 Highland Place. Dr. and Mrs. Cleage have returned recently from their bridal trip to Knoxville, Tenn, and are at home at 913 Fayette street.”
The add in the lower corner of the collage above has several pictures of women in traveling suits and big hats. The photograph of my grandmother over it shows her wearing a similar suit and hat, although not quite as flamboyant. Although this photograph was taken later in 1910 at a medical convention, I imagine this is the outfit she wore for her wedding tour. The little blue house is the one they came home to on Fayette street and the photo in the corner shows two women and my grandfather and my very happy looking grandmother at the medical convention later that year.
My grandparents ended up in Detroit where my grandfather practiced medicine and they raised their seven children. They were together 46 years, until my grandfather’s death in 1956. There are 9 grandchildren, 21 great grandchildren and 20 great great grandchildren. We’ve spread out over the United States and Canada.
This is a Sepia Saturday offering and an entry in the Fall Marriages Genealogy Carnival.
Last week Megan and Jim Heyl were kind enough to do some cemetery sleuthing for me. In spite of the rude and unhelpful attitude of the office staff, they found the groundskeeper to be helpful. He located the sod covered headstones of my paternal grandparents. The Heyls dug them out and replaced them on top of the sod so that they are now showing. More on Detroit Memorial Park Cemetery in the future.
I don’t know where my grandparents were going in these photographs from the 1950s. They were traveling with a group. I know they started in Detroit and ended up back in Detroit. In between they seem to have gone to the sea shore, the far west and possibly places in between. For other train related (or not) posts, click Sepia Saturday.
My grandmother is on the far right of the first photo.
My grandmother Pearl Reed Cleage in the middle, next to her my dapper grandfather.
At a band shell.
Stage coach.
My grandmother after vanquishing the bull in the ring. Or....?
This week’s Sepia Saturday features an old airplane. I have two photographs of a small, old plane in my Cleage collection. Unfortunately there is nothing written on the back of either photo and I can’t recognize anybody in the photo for sure, although the baby in the top photo couldbe my Aunt Barbara. I don’t know where the photo was taken or when. Here is a photograph of my family standing in a field in Detroit, 1920.
My grandfather Albert Cleage holding daughter Barbara. Next to him my father, Albert Jr. In front of him, Henry. In front of all Louis and Hugh. Standing alone to the right is my great grandmother, Celia Rice Cleage Sherman. And I just noticed the background looks similar…car, trees, etc.
For more fabulous photos of old airplanes and other fascinating Sepia Saturday subjects click here.
