“Naomi sent this to me – Aunt Willie and Uncle Victor. She – beautiful and he -wonderful!!” in my grandmother Fannie’s writing.
Your “Papa’s mouth looks like Roosevelt He was going to say something when Dr. took it.” I assume in Aunt Willie’s writing.
“Naomi sent it to me. Aunt Willie and Uncle Victory (?) 1920?” again in my grandmother’s handwriting.
on the side it says in my mother’s handwriting ”
Willie was Grandmother Turner’s older sister.”
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Victor and Willie Lee (Allen) Tulane are buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Montgomery, Alabama. Two of their children who died in early childhood are buried next to them. My daughter Ife and I visited the cemetery in 2009. It was on a Sunday and we didn’t expect anyone would be there to help us find the graves but the sexton was there and he was very helpful. We also found Dock and Eliza (Williams) Allen are also buried there, in the older part of the cemetery. One day I will post those photos and tell the whole story.
Naomi Tulane Vincent. Her engagement photograph. There is a matching one of her husband Ubert but, unfortunately, I do not have one. Naomi was the daughter of Victor and Willie (Allen) Tulane. She was married in Montgomery, Alabama in 1920 and then moved to New York as the wife of a society doctor. For more Sepia Saturday offerings.
I spent yesterday looking for information on this family to go with the photographs and a few random remarks from my cousin Margaret about them. Here is what I found. Annabel was born in 1882, the second of the six children of Edward and Mary (Allen) McCall. Her mother was a fine seamstress, sewing privately and her father was turn-key at the Montgomery jail.
Annabel married earlier than her other siblings to a man by the last name of Martin. They had one son in 1908 who they named Jefferson. Unfortunately Mr. Martin soon died. In 1910 she married his brother Edward Martin, a widower who brought his two young sons to the marriage, Edward, 3 and Estil, 2. Edward was fifteen years older then Annebel. He was a tailor who owned his own home and was his own boss. Annabel was working for the United States Gov. at the post office in Nashville, TN.
They had five more children together. Young Anna was born in Alabama in 1913. Edward, Thelma and Caruso were born in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky in Jan. 1915, March 1916 and October 1920. Geneva was born in between Edward and Thelma, although there is barely enough space for her to fit in. I did not find A birth record for her in Kentucky.
In 1920 we find the family in White City, Florida. Not only is Edward going by Edwin but they have added an “s” to Martin and claim all of their parents were no longer born in Tennessee and Kentucky (him) or Alabama (her) they were born in Italy. They are also listed as white instead of mulatto as they had been previously. Edward is still tailoring from his owned home. Annabel is not working outside the home although with 7 children under 13 she’s working plenty inside it. The census was taken in January and Caruso was not born until October, back in Kentucky. Edward #3 is now listed as born in Aabama, Geneva in Louisiana and Thelma in Arkansas. Either one of the children got creative with the ennumerator, they were on the lam or they were passing and covering their tracks.
The photograph taken above is from my grandmother Fannie’s album. She wrote on the top “Annabel her family + us”. Annabel and my grandmother were first cousins. My aunt Mary V. is the little girl standing apart looking at the camera. She was born in 1920. My grandmother is holding Mershell, born in 1921 on her lap. My mother was born in Feb. 1923 so I would put the year at 1922. That must be Caruso leaning on his mother Annabel’s knee. The little girls are probably Geneva and Thelma. That is my grandfather Mershell Graham leaning so cool in the back.
In 1930 Annabell and her family were still in Detroit. The two oldest boys are no longer at home. They would have been 22 and 23. The rest of the children are living at home. Annabel works as a seamstress at a store. The three oldest children are delivery people at a fur store. I think this would be Annis Furs which used to be in Detroit right behind Hudson’s. My great grandmother and her daughter Daisy were worked there for many years. The Martin family is back in the Negro race.
Montgomery, Ala., Jan, 16.
Victor H. Tulane, a leader of his Race here for many years, died at his home, 430 S. Union St., at the age of 57. His rise to affluence, through his own industry and native shrewdness, was little short of remarkable. Prior to his death he owned a mercantile business and operated a real estate agency of considerable scope.
Tulane first came to Montgomery when he was 15 years, old having walked here from Wetumpka, where he was born. His first job was porter in a saloon, but later he opened a store at the corner of High and Ripley Sts. which he operated for about thirty years. He later rented his store and entered the real estate business, and before his death had accumulated a comfortable estate.
For many years Tulane served on the board of trustees of the Tuskegee Institute. He was also chairman of the board of trustees of the Hale infirmary. He was widely known for his generosity and willingness to serve in charitable movement. He was actively connected with the community chest and was one of the first to donate toward the Y.M.C.A. building for white (sic.) persons.
Surviving are his widow, Willie L. Tulane of Montgomery, and his daughter, Naomie Tulane Vincent, New York city. Funeral arrangements will be announced later by the Loveless Undertaking company.
_______________
Transcribed from The Chicago Defender Jan 17, 1931 via ProQuest Historical Newspapers online database.
More about this branch of the family to come. Victor’s wife, Willie Lee Allen Tulane, was one of Eliza’s daughters.
Howard Turner and Jennie Virginia Allen were married in June of 1887. Howard’s father, Joe Turner gave them land to farm in Lowndes County, Alabama. Joe wanted the land to stay in the family forever. By 1892 Joe and Howard were arguing constantly about Howard and Jennie’s desire to sell the land and move to Montgomery. The day of the fateful bar-b-que the arguments had been particularly violent. Jennie was in Montgomery visiting her parents , with their two young daughters, when word came that Howard had been shot dead at the bar-b-que.
Jennie moved back to her parent’s house with her children, Fannie and Daisy. She took the title to the land to a lawyer and asked him to make sure all was in order so she could sell. When she returned the lawyer told her that the title was not clear and she didn’t own the land. Jennie believed that her father-in-law had paid the lawyer to get the land back for himself. She cut ties with the Turners and went to work as a seamstress, the trade her mother Eliza had taught all six of her daughters.
Many years later, when Fannie was grown, she ran into one of her Turner cousins. She asked the cousin about what her mother believed – that Joe Turner had his son killed to keep the land. It wasn’t true. The lawyer had stolen the land for himself. They didn’t know who killed Howard.
Fannie was my maternal grandmother. Howard and Jennie were my great grandparents. Joe Turner was my great great grandfather. I didn’t know his or wife’s name, nor any of Howard’s siblings names until I found them in the 1870 and 1880 census in Lowndes County, Alabama when I began to do online research in the 1990s. Joe and Emma Turner lived on the farm with their children, Lydia b. 1862, Howard b. 1863, Fanny b. 1864, Joe b. 1867, Anna b. 1869, Alonza b. 1873.
After working on the collage I uploaded yesterday for Labor Day, I kept thinking about the work that family members had done over the generations. Here is a chart showing 7 generations of workers from my great-great-great-grandmother to my children. My direct line is highlighted in yellow. The women with children combined whatever else they did with cooking, cleaning, washing clothes and raising the children. The first generations started their work life as slaves in Alabama.
I made the chart using Microsoft Word. That resulted in a very crowded chart. I then imported it into Photoshop where I cut and pasted and moved things around and added the highlights. I later thought I should have added places of birth and death, but I didn’t. Next time. The paternal side chart is available HERE.
I found my greatgrandmother’s autograph/memory book in an envelope in a box where my mother saved little notebooks, wallets etc. The first part of the book, including the cover have vanished. Going by what is left I think my greatgrandmother started the book when she was 19 years old.
Transcribed entries numbering from top left down column, over to second column, etc.
Miss Virginia Allen
Montgomery Ala.
Mom passed aged 84
Mar 28 1954
Dear Jennie
When I am far away
From you believe
Me to be your
Dear brother
Dock Allen
Montgomery Ala Mar 14th/86
Jennie’s brother, Dock, was born in 1862, four years before Jennie. He worked as an errand boy and a barber – he drowned in 1891 on Aug. 30 Trying to “walk the moonlight path.”
Miss Jennie
May you live long and prosper in this life
And your last days be the best
Is my prayer. Yours Respectfully,
J W Saffold
Montg Ala
Jan 7th 1886
The secret of happiness, is love
Your true friend
N.C. Lambert
Montgomery, Ala.
Sept. 29, 1884
Dearest Janie
I wish you would
Remember they creator
In the days of thy youth when the evil
Days are not nor the years draw nigh
When thou may sayeth I have no
Pleasure in them
M.A. McCall
Montgomery
Ala/Jan/16th 1885
May flowers cheer your
Path way through
Life may life be a comfort unto you
Compliments from
R. Allen
R. was Jennie’s brother Rance.
Dear Jennie
Remember me as your loving little
Daughter when I am gone to come
No more
Compliments of Fannie M. Turner
Montgomery Ala
Mar 16 – 18/97 – Age 11
It’s better to trust and be deceived
and reap that trust, and that deceiving.
Than doubt the heart, that if believed
Would bless your heart, with true believing!
Obediently
V.B. Harris
June 24th 1884
Grandmother Turners
“Memory” Book –
Note the entries written by DockAllen and Dock Allen, Jr. – they are probably the same – grandmother’s brother
This was added years later by my mother, Jennie’s granddaughter.
Dear Jennie
There are few
friends in this wild world that love
is fond and true. But Jennie when you count them over, place me among the few
J. M. Nesbitt
Montgomery, Ala
To Miss V. Allen
I hope that your future live may be such,
As to permit you to be worthy of
A welcome in heaven.
Your well wisher
Through life
Montgomery
April 4/22 Ala
ThMC Logan