Another from the drafts folder. More testimony for Amanda Cleag’s Widow’s Pension hearing. His wife testified here Rented Land.
Los Angeles County in 1888
“Pomona, South Pasadena and Compton are incorporated as cities. Long Beach is also incorporated for the first time, but is disincorporated years later in 1897 (but then reincorporated before the end of that year). Heavy floods occur. The Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce is established at a meeting of the city’s principal boosters. Los Angeles Times publisher, Harrison Gray Otis, makes the motion. A small African American community forms in Los Angeles, initially centered around First and Los Angeles Streets. Occidental College is founded in Eagle Rock.” Click on map to go to page.
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Deposition C in Amanda Cleag’s Widow’s Pension Claim
Mason Davis I am 57 My address is: 1239 Birch Street, Los Angeles California Occupation: Express man
I have been living in Los Angeles for about 21 years and I
lived in and around Austin, Texas, for 20 years before coming here to reside.
I first became acquainted with Abram Cleag and his wife
Amanda Cleag when they first came to Dr. Phillip’s plantation, near Austin,
Texas, all of forty years ago, and I knew them in and around Austin, Texas for
all of 20 years, and I knew them as long here in California. They came here a
little ahead of me and my wife, from Austin, Texas.
When they first came to Dr. Phillips plantation, they were a
young looking married couple, and said they had come from San Marcos, Texas, where
they had gone from Athens, Tenn. with the Tucker family, and that the Tucker
family had gone into the state of Virginia to live.
No, I do not know how long Abram Cleag and Amanda Cleag had
been married before they came to Dr. Phillip’s plantation, and I don’t
recollect that they ever told me where they had gotten married, but Abram Cleag
told me that he had been in the army during the civil war, and after he came
here he got a pension for his army service.
I know personally, however that Abram Cleag and Amanda Cleag
always lived together as man and wife all the time I was associated with them
in Texas for 20 years, and that they lived as man and wife all the time here in
California up to the time of Abram Cleag’s death in Long Beach, Calif., about a
year ago. Yes, sir, I attended his funeral in Long Beach, and saw him dead. My
wife and I used to visit the Cleags in Long Beach, and have styed at his home
for a week at the time.
I personally know that Amanda Cleag, this claimant for
pension has not remarried since the death of her husband, Abram Cleag, and that
she has had to work to support herself.
Yes, I know of my own knowledge that Abram Cleag and Amanda
Cleag always lived together as man and wife, never being separated or divorced,
during all the 40 or more years I knew them up to the time of Abram Cleag’s
death, and that they were known and recognized as man and wife by all who know
them both in Texas and California. I also know that the Cleags had two children
born to them, but none of them are alive. She had a granddaughter, Avalon
Price, with whom she lived in Long Beach, after the death of her husband Abram,
but that granddaughter died recently and Amanda is now alone in the world. She has no relations alive that I know of,
and I don’t know that Abram Cleag has any living relatives.
Question: Had Abram Cleag been married before his marriage
to Amanda Cleage, this claimant for pension, as you may have heard?
Answer: I never heard that he had been married before his
marriage to Amanda, and he never told me that he had been.
Question: Had Amanda, the claimant been married before her
marriage to Abram Cleag, the soldier?
Answer: Not that I know of. I never heard it said by either
of them that Amanda had been married before her marriage to Abram Cleag. If
either one of them had ever been previously married, I never heard of it.
It is my understanding that they had grown up in Tennessee,
but I never met anyone who knew them there.
No, I never heard that Amanda Cleag had been married to a
Lou Dedrick, from whom she was divorced before her marriage to Abram Cleag. I
can’t hardly believe that, as she was a young woman when I got to know her in
Texas.
I know for sure, however, that they always lived together as
man and wife all the years I knew them, and that they were never separated or
divorced.
Yes, that is my signature to that joint affidavit shown me.
No, I can’t fix the date any better that I have done to you, when I first got to know the Cleags.
Am not interested nor related. This has been read to me and
I have understood questions, and my answers are correct.
“The Reason,” by Albert A. Smith. The Crisis, (March, 1920)
From Florida’s stormy banks I go; I’ve bid the South “Good by”; No longer shall they treat me so, And knock me in the eye. The northern states is where I’m bound. My cross if more than double – If the chief executive can be found. I’ll tell him all my trouble.
Thousands have gone on there before, And enjoyed their northern live; Nothing there they can deplore, So they wrote back for their wives. Thousands more now wait to go To join the glorious sop. The recruiters failed to take one more Because the “Crackers” made ‘em stop.
Arise! ye Darkies now a-slave Your chance at last has come; Hold up your head with courage brave, ‘Cause times are changing some, God is punctual to his word, Faithful to his dating; Humble prayers is what he heard, After years of faithful waiting. All before this change was made They took me for a tool. No respect to me was paid – They classed me for a fool. For centuries I was knocked and cuffed, And imposed upon by southern “whites”; For fifty years they had me bluffed And robbed me of my “right.” . . .
Hasten on, my dark brother, Duck the “Jim Crow” laws. No “Crackers” north to slap your mother Or knock you in the jaw. No “Crackers” there to seduce your sister, Nor hang you to a limb, And you’re not obliged to call them mister, Nor show your teeth at them.
Now, why should I remain longer south, to be kicked and dogged around? “Crackers” to knock me in the mouth And shoot my brother down. No, I won’t. I’m leaving today, No longer can I wait. If the recruiters fail to take me ‘way, I’m bound to catch a freight.
by Mr. Ward originally published in the Chicago Defender, November 11, 1916
In 1916 the word was everywhere – move north, you have a better chance. Friends and neighbors who had made the journey sent back word. The Chicago Defender sent newspapers all over the countries with articles about lynchings and poems like the above. There were articles about a better life in the north. Jobs that paid a living wage. About being able to vote. Pullman porters distributed the Defender throughout the south, even though the white authorities tried to prevent.
“The newspaper was read extensively in the South. Black Pullman porters and entertainers were used to distribute the paper across the Mason/Dixon line. The paper was smuggled into the south because white distributors refused to circulate The Defender and many groups such as the Klu Klux Klan tried to confiscate it or threatened its readers. The Defender was passed from person to person, and read aloud in barbershops and churches. It is estimated that at its height each paper sold was read by four to five African Americans, putting its readership at over 500,000 people each week. The Chicago Defender was the first black newspaper to have a circulation over 100,000, the first to have a health column, and the first to have a full page of comic strips.
“During World War I The Chicago Defender waged its most aggressive (and successful) campaign in support of “The Great Migration” movement. This movement resulted in over one and a half million southern blacks migrating to the North between 1915-1925. The Defender spoke of the hazards of remaining in the overtly segregated south and lauded life in the North. Job listings and train schedules were posted to facilitate the relocation. The Defender also used editorials, cartoons, and articles with blazing headlines to attract attention to the movement, and even went so far as to declare May 15, 1917 the date of the “Great Northern Drive.” The Defender’s support of the movement, caused southern readers to migrate to the North in record numbers. At least 110,000 came to Chicago alone between 1916-1918, nearly tripling the city’s black population.“ NPR “The Chicago Defender”
Mershell on the railing, Mary Graham in the chair and Clifton on the steps of 224 Tuscaloosa Street in Montgomery, AL
My maternal grandfather, Mershell C. Graham was one of those who listened and decided to leave Montgomery and head to Detroit.
In the 1916 Montgomery City Directory, my grandfather was was living with Clifton and Mary Graham. They were his “adopted family” and as far as I know not blood relations.
From the 1916 Polk Montgomery Directory
On February 14, 1917. he sent a letter from Detroit to Montgomery to ask for a recommendation from Seligman & Marx, Wholesale Grocers. Which means he had relocated to Detroit sometime before February 14. And to make that trip he took the train.
“Separate but equal” was a legal doctrine in United States constitutional law, according to which racial segregation did not necessarily violate the Fourteenth Amendment.
There was no food served to black people either on the train or at stops below the Mason-Dixon line. He would have bought a box with food for the journey, fried chicken, sandwiches, perhaps fruit, biscuits, and cake. Maybe enough to share with a fellow passenger who hadn’t brought food.
Although the price was the same for both black and white passengers, the accommodations were anything but equal. Below is a description. There are several other links at the end of this post to information about segregated travel.
A Way of Travel “From the 1830s through the 1950s, people traveled in trains pulled by steam locomotives. Cars in these trains were almost always arranged in a particular order—an order that reflected social hierarchy. Coal-burning steam engines spewed smoke and cinders into the air, so the most privileged passengers sat as far away from the locomotive as possible. The first passenger cars—the coaches—were separated from the locomotive by the mail and baggage cars. In the South in the first half of the 20th century, the first coaches were “Jim Crow cars,” designated for black riders only. Passenger coaches for whites then followed. Long-distance trains had a dining car, located between the coaches and any sleeping cars. Overnight trains included sleeping cars—toward the back because travelers in these higher-priced cars wanted to be far away from the locomotive’s smoke. A parlor or observation car usually brought up the rear“
A post about finding my great great grandmother Susan Rice Ragan that I wrote several years ago and never published.
My great great grandmother Susan Rice Regan’s grave stone in Hammond’s Cemetery in Athes, TN
Riding home today after getting my ears dewaxed, my mind wandered to… pension files.
Recently I joined fold3 to find information about one of the people I wrote up in the Katie Cleage’s series – Lucy McCaury. I couldn’t find anything about her, so I decided to see if there were any interesting widow’s files from the same Troop with the Cleages. I found one yesterday for Susan Regan, from Athens TN. As I went through her file, I noticed a name I recognized – W.R. Sherman and thought, well, I know him. He was my great grandmother Celia’s second husband. He was writing concerning final expenses for Susan Regan and he listed himself as son-in-law. It took me overnight to realize that would make her Grandma Celia’s mother.
Susan Ragan and the three children of Nelson Ragan/Reagan were named in the file. They were born in 1857, 1860 and 1864. My great grandmother was born in 1855. Henry was born in 1854. They weren’t named in the pension file because they were not Nelson’s children and therefore didn’t qualify for any pension money. In the 1870 census, Susan Ragan appears with those three plus Ann and Henry. All were using the Ragan surname. I had looked at that file several times before when trying to find Celia in the 1870 census and discarded it because the names were “wrong”. This time I remembered that Celia’s first name was Anna on her death certificate.
Monday I was following my newly found 2X great grandmother Susan Ragan through the census records on ancestry.com. She was only appearing in every other census. I finally decided to go ahead and add her to my main family tree as my great grandmother’s mother. (I had set up a separate tree for them until I was sure.) Once I added her as my great grandmother’s mother, she appeared in the missing censuses as Susan Rice . “Rice” being the name of their former slave holder and my great grandmother’s father so “Rice” became one of Susan Rice Ragan’s surnames and she began to show up when she used that surname. The children identified as ‘Ragan” before, now appeared as “Rice” in those censuses. It’s all so amazing to me. I even found her grave on Find-a-grave and had it transferred to me.
I published part I of Amanda Cleag’s Deposition during 2019 at this link – Amanda Cleage. While going through blog posts I never published, I found this one and decided to publish it today.
A page from the deposition
Part II of Amanda Cleag’s Deposition
Question: What persons or person are in or about Athens,
Tenn. now who knew you and the soldier there before your marriage?
Answer – I don’t know of anyone in there. I have had letters written there to different persons whom I knew, but my letters have all been returned to me. Well, I knew Amos Jackson and his wife, colored; Mr. and Mrs. Ross, colored, and Mr. and Mrs. Blizzard, colored, and Mr. and Mrs. Turner, colored.
Question-Where had you lived after the war and before your
marriage to the soldier?
Answer: I worked for and lived with Mr. and Mrs. John
Bridges in Athens, Tenn., after we had been freed by General Sherman, and I
lived with them until I went to live with Mr. Ben E. Tucker and his family,
just above Athens, and left with them to go to San Marcos, Texas, for awhile.
We were in San Marcos, Texas for about a year with the Tuckers, then husband
and I went to Austin, Texas, on our own account, engaging in farming and where
we first became acquainted with Mr. Davis and his wife, on Dr. Phillips farm.
We all were on the same farm, renting land from Dr. Phillips.
Question: Where did your husband live after he came out of
the army and before his marriage to you?
Answer: He lived right there in Athens, Tenn. Working for
Dr. Atlee, and with whom he remained until he went with the Ben E. Tucker
family and myself to Texas, as aforesaid.
Question: Had your
husband, the soldier been married, before his marriage to you?
Answer: No sir, he never had been. I know it because I lived
right there with him. No sir, he did not have a slave wife. He never lived with
any woman in martial relations before his marriage to me, that I know of or
ever heard of. He may have run around with women, for all I know, but I never
knew or heard of his living with any women as man and wife live together. I lived continuously with the soldier from
the time of my marriage to him as aforesaid, never being separated or divorced
from him, up to the time of his death, which occurred here in Long Beach,
California, April 14, 1908, and he was buried here in the cemetery.
Before my mother married my father she was also owned by
Russell Hurst who owned the soldier, and mother told me that she had the care
of the soldier as a little boy, for some reason or the other, and my mother
always told me that the soldier never had been married before his marriage to
me. My father, mother and the soldier were afterwards sold to the Cleags. Yes,
father had been owned by the Armstrongs previously and used to go by that name
and also the name of Cleag. By which one he was ever called.
My father and mother are both dead. I had four brothers and
three sisters. Three of my brothers are dead, but I do not know where the other
one is, if alive. Two of my sisters are
also dead, but the third one, Mrs. Sallie Ross, wife of George Ross, was living
in Washington, D.C., when I last heard from her 5 or 6 years ago. If I am not
mistaken she was living at Tacoma, near Washington D.C.
Question: How many times had you been married before your
marriage to the soldier?
Answer: I was only
married once before my marriage to the soldier. I was first married to Lou
Dedrick in Athens, Tenn., while I was still a slave and owned by Thomas Cleag.
I was married about six months before the close of the war. My second husband, the soldier, had not come
out of the army then: I can’t fix the date better than that. I was married to
Lou Dedrick by a colored preacher named “Uncle Sam Armstrong”. He was an old man. I was married in “Cindy
Dedrick’s” house, sister of first husband. I only lived with my first husband Lou
Dedrick, for six months, when I got a divorce on account of cruelty and threats
on my life. “went before the Grand Jury” and got my divorce. Lawyer Blizzard my
divorce proceedings for me, and I was given a general decree of divorce by the
Court and it must be of record. No, I haven’t my divorce paper now. Yes sir, I was given one. It got misplaced and
lost with other papers in Tennessee. Yes, I went into court to get my divorce.
I know I did get a divorce from Lou Dedrick, and I was given a divorce paper.
Lawyer Blizzard saw that I got my rights and I got the paper.
Lou Dedrick went away after I got a divorce from him, and I
have never seen him since or heard of him. I don’t know whether or not his
sister, his sister is alive and if her so, her place of residence. He had no
other relatives that I know of. He never was a soldier, but had lived in
Athens, Tenn., for a long while. I was just a young girl when I married him,
about 14 or 15 years old. I was too young to marry him. I had one child by him,
which subsequently died. I had 2 children by the soldier, which also died. My
oldest child, a daughter, died during the San Francisco, Cal., earthquake.
I swear between God and man I was only married once before
my marriage to the soldier, as aforesaid, and that I never lived with any man
as his wife, without being married to him. I only had those two marriages. That
is the God’s truth. Yes, I was divorced from Lou Dedrick, and Lawyer Blizzard
got the divorce for me in Athens, Tenn.
The soldier had four brothers, Isaac, Charley, George, Jeff
and Jerome Cleag and two sisters Kitty and Sarah Cleag. The four boys lived in
Chattanooga, Tenn., and they all died there. Kitty also died in Chattanooga and
Sarah died in Atlanta, Ga. The soldier has no relatives alive that I know of. I
know that they all died before my husband, except Sarah, who died since his
death. Her name was Mrs. Sarah McMillan, and she died in Atlanta, GA.
After my marriage to the soldier as herein before set forth,
we went to San Marcos, Texas, with the Tucker family and remained there a year
with them. When they went into Virginia some place to live, as Mr. Tucker was a
sick man and died in Texas, and my husband and I went to Dr. Phillips farm, a
mile from Austin, Texas, and we lived there and in and about Austin, Texas,
until we came here about 22 years ago, and have lived in Los Angeles and Long
Beach all the time since then. Mr. and Mrs. Davis, whom we knew in Austin
Texas, came out here shortly after we did.
While in Austin, Texas, I can refer to Mr. and Mrs. L. Leverman,
Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Jenkins, Mr. and Mrs. Bantam, all colored people. Also the
following white people: Mrs. Mary Deets,
George Marcum, a storekeeper, Mr. and Mrs. Bertie Barns, grocery business, the
finest in the city, and Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Freedman.
Question: you have stated in an affidavit that you were
married to the soldier in the year 1866 in Athens, Tenn. How about that?
Answer: That is a mistake. I was married to the soldier in
Chattanooga, Tenn., while on our way to Texas as I have told you, and it was
about two years after the war was over. The person who drew up that affidavit
misunderstood me.
Question; Can you write your name?
Answer: No I cannot. No, I never learned to write my name.
Question; who wrote your name “Amanda Cleag” to that pension
application I now exhibit to you?
Answer: My name on that pension application now exhibited to
me, was written by my deceased granddaughter, Avalon Pierce, at my
authorization. Yes sir, I told my granddaughter Avalon Pierce to write my name
to that pension application, because I could not write my name, and afterwards
I swore to the correctness of the contents of said application, and the notary
public, who drew up my pension application, and before and how it was executed,
said it was all right. He said my granddaughter could sign my name for me,
because I was unable to write it myself.
Mr. Spooner was the notary public I appeared before to execute only
application for pension. He didn’t tell that I had to sign by mark, because I
couldn’t write, but another notary public, before whom I appeared to execute an
affidavit in my said pension claims, said I would have to sign by mark, and I
did so. My granddaughter, Avalon Pierce,
also signed my name as aforesaid, has been dead for three months, having died
in this city on account of tuberculosis.
Question: By whom can you prove that the soldier was not married before his marriage to you, and that you lived continuously with him from the time of your marriage to him to the day of his death?
Answer: I don’t know as I can prove that he was never married before his marriage to me outside of my own statement, but I can prove by Mr. and Mrs. Davis that one lived together as man and wife in Texas from the first time they knew us there, and also they have known me all the time I have lived in California, or nearly all the time. No, sir, I have not remarried since the soldier’s death.
Question: By whom do you expect to prove that you were only married once before you marriage to the soldier, and that you were divorced from your first husband, Lou Dedrick?
Answer: I can’t get “no” proof of that, as I don’t know where any of those people are who knew me before my marriage to the soldier. Maybe some of those people can be located in Athens, whose names I have given you. I have given you all the information I possess in regard to that.
Question: How is it you stated in your pension application that you never had been married before your marriage to the soldier?
Answer: I didn’t think it necessary to say anything about that because I had gotten a divorce from my first husband. I know I did. No, I never was married in my life more than twice, first to Lou Dedrick, and the second and last time to the soldier. Mr. J.G. Parrish of Long Beach, Calif. is my pension attorney, but I have not paid him or anybody the any money for services rendered
This statement of mine herein made to you is the exact truth and I have not concealed any important facts. There is nothing more I can tell you.
You have explained to me all my rights and privileges, and I waive my right to be present or represented in the further examination of my claim.
Witness: J.G. Parrish A.C. McPeak Amanda (x her mark) Cleage 25th May 1909 Alford L. Leonard (special examiner)
Other posts about Amanda and Abram Cleag
Abraham and Amanda Cleage – this is the first one I published in 2015 before I ordered their pension files.
Clifton GrahamLowndes Adams and Rufus TaylorMershell Cunningham Graham
I pick up my life, And take it with me, And I put it down in Chicago, Detroit, Buffalo, Scranton, Any place that is North and East, And not Dixie. I pick up my life And take it on the train, To Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Seattle, Oakland, Salt Lake Any place that is North and West, And not South. I am fed up With Jim Crow laws, People who are cruel And afraid, Who lynch and run, Who are scared of me And me of them I pick up my life And take it away On a one-way ticket Gone up North Gone out West Gone!
By Langston Hughes
In early 1917 my maternal grandfather Mershell C. Graham decided to leave Montgomery, Alabama and seek a new life in Detroit, Michigan. He was far from alone. Spurred on by daily life, reports in the Chicago Defender and reports from those who had gone before, thousands of black men and women were leaving the south and heading, as the poem said, North and West.
Lowndes Adams, a friend who remained in Montgomery wrote to my grandfather in April 1917,
204 Oak Street Montgomery, Ala April 7, 1917
Dear “Shell” – From my early acting in answering your letter, you may know or imagine how proud I was to receive a letter from the boy. I have thought of you often and wondering at the same time, if I was just to receive a postcard from you; for as you have said about me, I consider you one of my closest and most trusted worthy friends. It doesn’t seem that one can realize the feeling that exists until a separation, but after looking into the proposition, knowing that you had to get located, being in a new land, and being among strangers would consume lots of your time. I am certainly pleased to know that you are so well satisfied with Detroit and the surroundings. Yes, I would be tickled to death if I could be up there with you, for I am sick and tired of this blooming place. I know it must be an inspiration to be where you can breathe a little freedom, for every body down here are beginning to feel that slavery is still existing in the south. The Teacher’s Association has been in session here from the 4th to the 7th and quite a number of visitors are here. The boys thru my chivalry managed to give a subscription dance, and believe me I came in an inch of being fagged out. You know how you have to run a “jinke” down to get a $1.00 from him. We had quite a success as well as an enjoyable one. Cliff was to make the punch but on account of his training being too late for him to even come to the ball, it fell my time to do something and I did wish for you but managed to brave the situation and tried to follow as close as I could remember my seeing your making punch and for a fact I really made that punch taste like “a la Shell punch”, and it turned out to be perfect class.
Alabama Medical Association will convene here on 9 and 10 and they are giving a dance at Tabors Hall on Randolph and Decatur Sts. No, not a full dress affair, so I think I shall attend. Sam Crayton is here from Chicago and he is very anxious for me to return with him, but I am afraid he will have to go and I come later.
Well, the U.S. is really in War with Germany and we can’t tell what the next war may bring. It will mean suffering for humanity, and we people down here especially. I am just as neutral as can be and expect to stand pat in the idea.
Yes, people are leaving here in droves for all directions and now you can miss them off of the streets. As many people that hung around the drug store on Sunday, you can scarcely find a dozen there now.
I have seen Miss Turner but once and that was down town. I know she keeps you well informed of herself. There is no news of interest. My sister Jessie was married in February and is now living in Pensacola, so you see so far 1917 has been lucky for me. Now old boy, I shall expect for you not to allow such long gaps between our writing each. All of my family sends the best of wishes to you and Mrs. Wyman and Hubby. The boys and girls join in with me and send their share.
Your devoted pal, Lowndes
When I thought about my grandfather’s move to Detroit, I pictured him arriving alone, not knowing anyone. After reading the letters he received from home asking him to say hello to people who were already there, I realized that was not the way it happened. My next post will talk about his arrival, locating housing and finding a job.
______________
Note: I have had several people say they don’t know what “Jinke” means. I have never heard or seen the word before, however, I take it to mean “Negro”.
Annie Graham was the only one of my grandfather Mershell’s five siblings alive for the 1950 Census. She was also the only one who never left Elmore County, Alabama. I have not been able to find her in the 1940 US Census. In 1950 she was listed as the head of the household, 61 years old, a widow and unable to work.
Living with her was her youngest son 28 year old Joe Jackson and his new wife 21 year old Ethel. Joe worked as a janitor at a church. He had worked 40 hours the previous week. Ethel was keeping house. All three members of the household were listed as Negro and were born in Alabama.
In 1950 in Alabama, including Elmore County, black people were denied the right to vote. Schools were still segregated. The bus boycott that desegregated buses in nearby Montgomery took place in 1955. Schools were desegregated in 1965, 9 years after the Brown vs. Board of education decision declared segregated schools unconstitutional. Voting rights weren’t won until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Annie Graham died at 79 in 1964. She never had a chance to vote.
Elmore County. Wetumpka is the county seat. Annie Graham lived in Robinson Springs, a part of Millbrook, in 1950.
A doctrine and strategy in which the rights of the individual states are protected by the U.S. Constitution from interference by the federal government...
States’ rights were revived in the late 1940s over the matter of race. In the 1948 election, Democrat HARRY S. TRUMAN pushed for a more aggressive CIVIL RIGHTS policy. Southern opponents, known as the “Dixiecrats,” bolted the DEMOCRATIC PARTY and ran their own candidate, J. STROM THURMOND. Their “states’ rights” platform called for continued racial segregation and denounced proposals for national action on behalf of civil rights.
Desegregation efforts of the 1950s and 1960s, including the Supreme Court’s decision in BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF TOPEKA, KANSAS, 347 U.S. 483, 74 S. Ct. 686, 98 L. Ed. 873 (1954), which ruled that racially segregated public schools were unconstitutional, also met with Southern resistance. Segregationists again argued for state sovereignty, and developed programs of massive resistance to racial INTEGRATION in public education, public facilities, housing, and access to jobs.
Other Posts about Annie Graham and Elmore County, Alabama
This was my 9th completed A to Z Challenge. I had all of my posts finished before April 1, except for those needing the 1950 Census. Even with those I had chosen the photographs and Little Golden Books and had the post set up so I just needed to add the census. It made for a much less stressful month! All of my A to Z posts are listed here A to Z Challenge 2022.
I also did National Poetry Writing Month, so I wrote a poem a day. They were quick poems, which I posted on my Ruff Draft poetry blog.
This gave me more time to visit and comment on other posts. I found myself reading daily and commenting regularly on the following blogs, listed alphabetically.
I’m thinking about next year’s A to Z Challenge. I plan to do it and to have the posts written up before hand. No idea what the topic will be.
In the coming year I’ll write up more family members found in the 1950 Census. So far I have my Aunt Gladys Cleage Evans, my husband James E Williams and my great aunt Annie Graham, all found and waiting.
The big project – I want to get back to work on the Edelweiss women, those that I was going to write about last year for the A to Z but didn’t. They’ve been on the back burner for the last year. So many interesting stories! I’ve got to write them up.
This is my ninth year of blogging the A to Z Challenge. Everyday I will share something about my family’s life during 1950. This was a year that the USA federal census was taken and the first one that I appear in. At the end of each post I will share a book from my childhood collection.
Springfield Forest Park Zoo
I don’t remember going to the zoo in Springfield. In fact I wasn’t sure if they had one. They do. It was founded in 1894 and is still open.
Dr. Seuss lived in Springfield as a child and his father worked at the Zoo when he was a boy. According to this post, he was inspired by spending time there to draw some of his bizarre animals.
“Located in the heart of the city’s largest park is the Forest Park Zoo. After Prohibition closed the family brewery, Ted’s (note: Ted was Dr. Seuss) father took a job as Superintendent of the Zoo. Ted’s childhood home was just a short distance from the zoo and he must have spent many an hour watching the exotic animals there since many of his zany creatures in his books bear a striking resemblance to animals he saw in Forest Park. Forest Park Zoo/Seuss in Springfield“
We had our own zoo of stuffed animals and dolls.
After we moved to Detroit we used to go to the zoo once a year with my maternal grandparents and our cousins.
