C – Cuddly Baby Girl Arrives

April 3, 2025A-Z Challenge 2025, African-American Genealogy & Slave Ancestry Research, Detroit, GrahamsMary VirginiaKristin

For this year’s A to Z Challenge, I will be posting an event for that date involving someone in my family tree. Of course it will also involve the letter of the day. It may be a birth, a death, a christening, a journal entry, a letter or a newspaper article. If the entry is a news item, it will be transcribed immediately below. Click on photographs to enlarge in another window.

**The Emancipator**, Montgomery, Alabama • Sat, April 10, 1920 Page 2

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT.

The hearts of Mr. and Mrs. Merchell Graham were gladened Saturday, April 3rd, by the arrival of a sweet baby girl. Mr. and Mrs. Graham now reside in Detroit, Mich., but both are former Montgomerians.

_______________

Mershell and Fannie (Turner) Graham. August 1919. Detroit, Michigan.

Mr. and Mrs. Mershell Graham were my maternal grandparents. Mary Virginia Graham, born April 3, 1920 was my mother’s older sister and my aunt.

My grandfather, Mershell Graham came to Detroit from Montgomery, Alabama in 1917. He proposed to my grandmother, Fannie Turner in 1918. She accepted and they were married on June 15, 1919 at Fannie’s home in Montgomery and left the same day for Detroit.

They roomed with friends from home and lived there when Mary Virginia was born. Mershell worked in an Auto plant as an inspector. My grandmother did not work outside of the home after her marriage.

______________

The Proposal – 1918
The Proposal Accepted – 1918
Mershell Graham and Fannie Mae Turner Marriage License – 11 June 1919
Graham-Turner Wedding – 1919 Montgomery Alabama
F – FAMILY, MY GRAHAMS in the 1920 Census

B – Battle Creek Enquirer Tallies Louis Cleage’s Votes

April 2, 2025A-Z Challenge 2025, Cleages, Detroit#Louis CleageKristin

_________________

On April 2, 1951, my uncle Dr. Louis J. Cleage ran for the University of Michigan Board of Regents. I had no idea until I found a newspaper item in The Battle Creek Enquirer. He did not win but received 3,547 votes.

***Battle Creek Enquirer***, Battle Creek, Michigan • Wed, Apr 18, 1951Page 7

I am just going to transcribe the paragraph with the Board of Regents votes, bottom first column, top of second, above:

“Regents of the University, (two Regents elected): Roscoe O. Bonisteel, Republican, 409.966; Leland I. Doan, Republican, 410,302; Murray D. Van Wagoner, Democrat, 315,955; Wheaton L. Strom, Democrat, 258,214; Arthur L. Leach, Prohibition, 7,173; Roville L. Heltzel, Prohibition, 5,899: Louis J. Cleage, Progressive, 3,547; Richard Fox, Progressive, 3,818; James Sim, Socialist Labor. 1,591; Theo A. Grove, Socialist Labor, 1,641; Howard Lerner, Socialist Workers, 1,181; and William H. Yancey, Socialist Workers, 1,182.”

*Romanul American* Detroit, Michigan · Saturday, March 31, 1951. Dr. Louis Cleage, second from right.

I was surprised to find that a Romanian Newspaper seemingly has him on their slate of candidates. I can’t be sure as I do not speak Romanian, but it looks that way to me.

C.D. Gallant-King to the rescue with a translation! “The faces of some of the candidates that the newspaper recommends you support, through your vote, in the April 2 elections in the state of Michigan.”

In 1951 Dr. Louis Cleage was 36 years old. He and his father, Dr. Albert B. Cleage SR shared a practice at Cleage Clinic. He lived at 2270 Atkinson, Detroit, Michigan with his parents and five of his siblings – Henry, an attorney in private practice; Hugh, a postal worker; Barbara secretary/receptionist at Cleage Clinic and Anna who was a pharmacist at Cleage Clinic. Two siblings had married and lived out of state. They were my father, Albert jr and Gladys.

Cleage Clinic as it looked after being closed.

Other posts about Louis Cleage

L – Louis Cleage
Uncle Louis Plays the Organ – 1956
Louis Cleage – W8AFM
Building Louis’ Cottages – Idlewild 1943 to 1945
Y Is For Louis Cleage’s Yacht – late 1940s
X is for X-Ray – Story of Louis Cleage’s Puffy Finger – early 1940s
Dr. Louis Cleage Proves Billy Eckstine’s Voice Influences Blood Pressure

A – An April 1 Wedding for Jeanette

April 1, 2025A-Z Challenge 2025, Montgomery AlabamaKristin

This is my 12th year doing the A to Z April Challenge. For this year’s A to Z Challenge I am posting an event involving someone in my family tree for that date. It may be a birth, a death, a christening, a journal entry, a letter or a newspaper article. If the entry is a news item, it will be transcribed immediately below. Click on photographs to enlarge in another window.

The Emancipator Montgomery, Alabama Sat, April 6, 1918 Page 3

McCALL-McEWEN WEDDING.

Miss Jeanette McCall, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edward McCall, of this city, and Lieutenant Robert A. McEwen, who is stationed at Camp Dodge, were quietly married Monday morning, April 1st, at Des Moines, Iowa. Lieutenant McEwen is a native of Winnona, Miss., and will probably sail for France at an early date.

________________

Lieutenant Robert A. McEwen did indeed eventually get sent to France after completing his training at Camp Dodge.

I do not know if Jeanette’s husband is in this photo.

I wondered how Jeanette and Robert met when they lived in different states. Then I saw that Robert McEwen graduated from Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Jeanette’s older sister Otillia was a teacher at Mississippi Industrial College, right across the road from Rust College. Jeanette visited her frequently, giving her the opportunity to meet Robert Anderson McEwen.

The couple lived in Chicago after he left the service. He was a dentist and she did not work outside of the home. They had two sons.

Jeanette McCall was my grandmother Fannie Turner Graham’s first cousin. Their mothers, Mary Allen McCall and Jennie Allen Turner, were sisters. She died in 1931 of influenza on top of tuberculosis. She was 34 years old.

You can read more about Jeanette and her all too short life in these posts:
Jeanette McCall McEwen – Death Certificate 1897 – 1931
Jeanette McCall McEwen
Jeanette McCall McEwen – 1897 – 1931
Cousins on the Running Board

You can find more information about Black soldiers at Camp Dodge at links below
Black World War 1 Soldiers at Camp Dodge
Black Officers at Fort Des Moines Iowa

Intro to my A to Z Challenge

March 30, 2025A-Z Challenge 2025Kristin

For this year’s A to Z Challenge, I will post an event for that date that involves someone in my family tree. The letter of the day will also be involved. It may be a birth, a death, a christening, a journal entry, a letter, a poem or a newspaper article. I have pre-written all of my posts, although I may nudge them a little here and there. Below is an index to my posts 2025.

A to Z 2025 Theme Reveal

March 13, 2025A-Z Challenge 2025, African-American Genealogy & Slave Ancestry ResearchKristin

This will be my twelfth year doing the A to Z Challenge. I’ve considered several different themes in the past week. After reading On This Day in April by CRGalvin, I decided to use the event of the day for my theme also. Everyday during April I will pick an event from that date from my family history and write about that, using different years and decades and branches, I hope to find enough to fill up the calendar.

Making it even more interesting will be making the events of the day also match the letter of the day!

AtoZChallenge theme reveal 2025 #atozchallenge

The Murder of Howard Turner 1891

February 24, 2025Alabama, News Items, TurnerJennie AllenKristin

*The Montgomery Advertiser*, Montgomery, Alabama • Wed, Jul 1, 1891Page 2

Killed In Lowndes
Howard Turner of This City Killed at a Colored Folks Picnic.
Hayneville, June 30. -[Special.]- Last Saturday the colored people had a picnic across Big Swamp near Hayneville. The result is Howard Turner, who came from Montgomery was killed by one Phillip McCall. Too much whisky and too many pistols. Phillip surrendered this morning.
The Weekly Advertiser (Montgomery, Alabama) Thursday, July 1, 1891 Page 2

We were always told that my grandmother Fannie Turner Graham’s father was killed at a barbecue when she was four years old. After years of being unable to find any documentation, I found this news item on Newspapers.com several years ago.

Jennie Allen Turner in mourning dress with daughters Daisy and Fannie. 1891.

“In Memory of My Husband Howard Turner who was instantly killed by Philip McCall June 27, 1891.

Vengence is mine, saith the Lord, I will repay.”

Yesterday while searching for more information about my great grandfather Howard Turner, I found this on Ancestry.com in the Alabama, Surname Files Expanded, 1702–1981. It looks like it came from the cemetery. Is it the inscription on his grave stone?

I looked for and found the Hayneville Cemetery, but can find no entry for Howard Turner. I wish I could see that grave stone. Reading it gave me a whole new vision of my great grandmother. I can understand the anger expressed in this inscription.

Three of my Grandparent’s Grandparents

February 19, 2025Cleages, Grahams, Kentucky, Photographs, Reeds, Saturday Night Genealogy Fun#Albert B. Cleage Sr, #Mershell C. Graham, #Pearl Reed CleageKristin

My maternal grandfather, Mershell Cunningham Graham was born about 1887 in Coosada Station, Elmore County, Alabama. He was the fourth of six children. His parents farmed. His maternal grandmother lived in Elmore county, but she doesn’t appear in any records after the 1880 census so she was possibly dead before he was born. His maternal grandfather was the slave holder and he died in 1860, well before Mershell was born.
Mershell’s father, William Graham, doesn’t appear with his parents, so I don’t know who they were, much less if they lived nearby and were alive when my grandfather Mershell was.

My paternal grandfather, Albert B. Cleage, was born in 1884, the youngest of five children. His father, Louis Cleage was share cropping in Loudin, Tennessee. After Louis Cleage and his wife Celia Rice Cleage, divorced, she moved back to Athens where her mother Susan Rice Regan lived. Susan lived until 1911 when my grandfather would have been grown. I am sure that he knew her.Susan and al of her children had been enslaved on a Rice plantation south of Athens. Celia’s father was an unknown slave holder by name of Rice and I’m sure that my grandfather never met him.
Albert B. Cleage’s paternal grandparents were Frank and Juda Cleage. They were enslaved on Alexander Cleage’s plantation in Athens, Tennessee. They do not appear in any records after the 1870 census. According to the testimony of Adeline Sherman in the pension case of Katie Cleage, Frank and Juda died before 1890, when she gave testimony. I doubt that they they lived long enough for my grandfather to meet them.

Pearl Reed about 1904 — Pearl Doris Reed 1904

My paternal grandmother, Pearl Doris Reed, the youngest of eight children, was born about 1886 in Lebanon, Kentucky. Her mother Annie Allen Reed and her maternal grandmother, Clara Hoskins Green, lived near each other. Clara died after 1880. Annie’s father is listed as Robert Allen. I cannot find a Robert Allen in their area. Pearl probably would have met Clara if she lived until the 1890s.
Annie and her children moved to Indianapolis, Indiana about 1891 when Annie and her oldest son George appear in the city directory. Pearl was about five years old. Her father Buford Avritt was a white doctor who, according to oral history, did not support the family in their time of need. I was warned never to mention his name to my grandmother. I’m sure she never met her paternal grandparents.

You can read about my maternal grandmother and her grandparents at this ink -> when it goes up

THE CLEAGES 100 YEARS AGO – 1925

February 15, 2025African-American Genealogy & Slave Ancestry Research, Cleages, Detroit, Grahams, Saturday Night Genealogy FunKristin

Albert B. Cleage was born in Tennessee in 1884. He moved to Indianapolis, IN in 1909 to attend Medical School. There he met and married Pearl Reed, who was born in Kentucky and came to Indianapolis as a small child. Soon after the birth of my father in 1911, the family moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan where my grandfather became the first black physician. After several years, they moved to Detroit.

The Cleages and friends at Idlewild, Michigan 1925. Three of the children are not in the photo – Louis, Hugh and baby Anna. Cannot identify the others.

In 1920 they bought a large brick house on the corner of Scotten and Moore Place on Detroit’s Old Westside. By 1925 they were the parents of seven children, my father Albert (14), Louis (12), Henry (9), Hugh (7), Barbara (5) Gladys (3), and baby Anna born in January of that year.

**Family home 1920-1948. 6429 Scotten Avenue. Detroit, Michigan.**

My grandfather’s medical office was several blocks away at 4334 McGraw. He and Dr. Grimes, a dentist, shared the space. My grandmother had plenty to do at home with seven children and didn’t work outside the home after she married.

**Dr. Cleage shared an office with in the house above in 1925.**

Dr. Grimes and Dr. Cleage on the office steps

Eighth grade class at Wingert Elementary School. My father is second from left, front row. 1924

My father, Albert Jr with his eighth grade class at Wingert Elementary school. The school was a block from their house. Henry, Hugh, Louis and Barbara were also students at Wingert in 1925.

Two of Albert’s siblings, Jacob and Henry, and their families plus his mother Celia were also living in Detroit by 1925. They lived within walking distance of each other. My great grandmother Celia lived with my grandfather. His sister Josephine still lived in Indianapolis. His brother Ed remained in Athens, Tennessee and died there the following year.

They were members of St. John’s Presbyterian church, where Albert and Pearl had been founding members. They had a car which Albert used for work. They took trips both in Michigan and to Indianapolis and Athens to visit family.

Saw the prompt to write about the lives of your family 100 years ago. Saturday Night Genealogy Fun

The Grahams 100 Years Ago

February 13, 2025African-American Genealogy & Slave Ancestry Research, Detroit, Grahams, Great MigrationKristin

Last week I realized it was 102 years since my mother Doris Graham Cleage was born on February 12, 1923 in Detroit, Michigan. When I read the Saturday Night Genealogy Fun theme was your family 100 years ago. I decided to do it. Click on the links for more information. Click on the photographs to enlarge them.

The Grahams, maybe Belle Isle park, Detroit, 1925 Left is my grandfather Mershell C, Graham holding my mother Doris. My grandmother Fannie Turner Graham is holding my uncle Mershell C. Graham Jr and my aunt Mary V.

My grandfather came to Detroit from Montgomery, Alabama in 1917. In 1919 he went back and married my grandmother and they returned to Detroit. By 1925 they had been there six years. They had three children, all born in Detroit, Mary V. (5), Mershell Jr (4) my mother Doris (2).

Mershell and Fannie bought a frame house at 6638 Theodore on the east side of Detroit when my mother was on the way. Fannie’s mother and her two sister’s came up from Montgomery and moved in with them. In 1925 all three worked at Annis Furs.

"Jennie Annis Furs" — Staff at Annis Furs. My great grandmother Jennie Turner is on the far right, middle row. Next to her is her daughter Alice. Aunt Daisy is right in the center of that middle row, #4.

My grandfather worked at the Highland Park Ford Plant as an inspector. My grandmother didn’t work outside of the home after her marriage. My aunt Mary V. at five, would have been attending half day kindergarten at Thomas Elementary school, several blocks from their house.

They were active members of Plymouth Congregational Church where my grandfather Mershell had been a founding member. They didn’t have a car. They walked or traveled by streetcar.

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The Land of Hope – Mershell Graham’s move to Detroit
Eliza’s Children Move North – my great grandmother and her siblings moving north from Montgomery.

New Year’s Day Sermon 1967

January 1, 2025Cleages, Detroit, Sermon Notes#Albert B. Cleage JrKristin

Although this sermon was preached on New Year’s Day in 1967, as I listen to it, I think it could have been preached today. On that day we didn’t know that the Detroit rebellion was ahead. On this day we don’t know what is ahead for us.

My father preaching with the Black Madonna painting behind him.

Sermon Notes for Sunday January 1, 1967 – click to enlarge.

Click to hear the sermon.

Finding Eliza

Family history blog