Category Archives: Cleages

More Information About Yesterday’s Photo and a Discovery

January 27, 2011Cleages, Investigations, Mystery, Photographs#DetroitKristin

Last night I posted an undated photograph of my grandparents. I assumed it was taken soon after they were married in 1910. Then one of my daughter’s asked me when it was taken and where it was taken. I went back to my box of Cleage photos to see if I could find some others taken on the same day. After going through quite a few pictures, I noticed that there were numbers on the back of the photographs.

Here is the back of the photo in question. That is my handwriting. I started looking for other photos with the number 573. Voila! I found two. One says ‘Toddy and Theodore Page”, not in my handwriting. Toddy is my father and Theodore Page was the nephew of Gertrude, my great uncle Jacob’s wife. He was living with them in Detroit, according to the 1930 census.

Taking a side trip, I began to look for information about Theodore (Roosevelt) Page. I found him at age 6 living with his parents, Jacob and Anna Eliza Page, and siblings William and Ophelia living on a farm in Mississippi in 1910. By 1920 he was 16 years old. He and his mother were living with sister his Ophelia and her husband, Henry Red, in Arkansas. He worked on the family farm and had attended school in the last year. I’ve been trying to find Uncle Jacob’s wife’s maiden name for years. Maybe finding her sister will help.

The other photo with the number 573 on it is a very blurry group photo. I see my grandmother Pearl on the far left with little Barbara in front of her. Hugh is next to Barbara, My father is in the front row center, next to him is my great grandmother, Celia Rice Cleage Sherman, a little kid, probably my uncle Henry is next. Behind Henry we see Theodore Page. My grandfather is on the end. Is he still holding the mystery object from the other photo?

Now I’ll make another attempt to date the photo. My father was born in 1911. He could be 10 or 11. Barbara was born in 1920. She could be 2. Gladys was born the end of September in 1922. Does my grandmother look pregnant? My estimate is summer of 1922.

With this new information I will begin sorting, and scanning the box of photos in the near future.

Albert and Pearl (Reed) Cleage -1922

January 27, 2011Cleages, Photographs, Wordless Wednesday#Albert B. Cleage Sr, #Pearl Reed CleageKristin

My father’s parents at a picnic in 1922. My grandmother was pregnant with my aunt Gladys. My grandfather is holding a flag. I thought I should start my 100 posts about my father with something about his parents. Today a photo, tomorrow some basic information.

Three sisters

January 23, 2011Cleages, sepia saturday#Anna Cleage Shreve, #Barbara Cleage Martin, #Gladys Cleage Evans, #Sepia SaturdayKristin

The Graham sisters were on my Finding Eliza blog, along with the next generation of Cleage sisters – my sister and me. Here are my aunts, the original Cleage sisters in the early 1940’s. Barbara, Gladys and Anna. For more Sepia Saturday posts click here.

Sisters

January 20, 2011Cleages, Grahams, Photographs, Wordless Wednesday#Doris Graham Cleage, #Mary V. Graham Elkins, #me, #Pearl CleageKristin

Inspired by Nolichucky Roots photos of two generations of sisters I decided to do the same.

mv22205_2 — The Graham sisters - My mother Doris with her sister Mary V.

krisnpearl1953 — Kristin and Pearl Cleage 1953 in front of the parsonage - Detroit.

Louis Cleage – Spelling His Name In Various Records

January 12, 2011Cleages, Investigations#Louis CleageKristin

While looking for my great grandfather Louis Cleage I encountered various spellings of his name.

1870 United States Federal Census
Name: Lewis Cleage
Home in 1870: District 5, McMinn, Tennessee
Age in 1870: 16
In 1970 Louis Cleage was living in McMinn County with who I think are his parents and siblings. I cannot be positive because relationships were not given in the 1870 census. No job description but he was born in Tennessee. I can’t find them in the 1880 Census and by that time Louis was Clage and married.

Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002
Name: Lewis Cloge
Spouse: Sela Rice
Marriage Date: 25 Apr 1872
Marriage County: McMinn

State of Tennessee, McMinn County
Marriage Bond
Lewis Cleage
23 day of April 1872

1880 United States Federal Census
Name: Lewis Clage
Home in 1880: Hackberry, Loudon, Tennessee
Age: 28

Tennessee Census, 1810-91
Year: 1891
Name: Lewis Cleage
Township: Dist. 7 Male Voters

1900 United States Federal Census
Name: Louis Cleag
Home in 1900: Precinct 8, Jefferson, Alabama
Birth Date: Jun 1850

1918 Indianapolis Indiana City Directory
Living with his sons Jacob and Henry Cleage
Cleage, Lewis

I haven’t found him in the 1920 census and I haven’t found a death certificate yet. I do not know when or where he died. I don’t have a photograph of him.

I later found his death certificate. You can see it here: Louis Cleage’s Death Certificate and you may see his burial spot -> Louis Cleage’s Burial Spot

Winter 1966 knitting

January 8, 2011Biography, Cleages, memories, Photographs#1960's, #me, #Sepia SaturdayKristin

Here I am starting my one and only knitting project. When it was done the edges curled up. It was light blue, very long and wrapped around my head and face during the cold Detroit winters. I added fringe to the ends and wore it all through college. I’m wearing it below in 1969. To see other SepiaSaturday offerings click HERE.

Awards

January 7, 2011Allen, Cleages, Eliza, Grahams, Investigations#awardsKristin

In the past several months I have received several awards for my blogs. (I used to have two blogs, one for my maternal line and one for my paternal line. I combined them awhile ago.) I put off posting them because I am supposed to pass them on to 10 or 15 other bloggers and it seemed like almost everybody I follow already has received the awards, some multiple times.

Today I was determined to find ten bloggers to pass the awards on to and to be able to post my awards. I spent several hours going from blog to blog and it started to be funny to me because I found that bloggers were receiving the Ancestor Approved Award just before I got there. In one case two people passed on the award right behind each other! I don’t quite know how to handle this. I have decided that I will fulfill the other requirements and not pass on the awards at this time. If someone reading this has not yet received the Ancestor Approved Award, email me! I’ve got to post so people will stop thinking I haven’t received the award and keep sending them to me! So here goes…

Dionne Ford of Finding Josephine gave Finding Eliza two awards some months ago, The “Versatile Blogger Award” and “One Lovely Blog Award”. I apologize for taking so long to respond. I have to list seven things about myself and link back to Finding Josephine.

1. I can milk a goat.
2. I swam across Lake Idlewild and back when I was in my 40’s.
3. My third daughter, Ayanna, was born at home.
4. I home schooled my four youngest children.
5. I studied Spanish, French, Norweigian and Arabic with varying degrees of success.
6. I recently began strength training with my sister.
7. I didn’t get my driver’s license until I was 29.

I received the Ancestor Approved Award at My Cleages and Reeds (Now combined with Finding Eliza.) from Nolichucky Roots, Bill West of West in New England and Nancy at My Ancestors and Me On Finding Eliza I received the Ancestor Approved Award from Nolichucky Roots and Missy of Fables and Endless Genealogies. I must admit to fiddling around with the award in Photoshop and adding my own ancestors, photographs.

This award was created by Leslie Ann Ballou at Ancestors Live Here. Leslie asks that recipients list ten things they’ve learned about any of their ancestors that have surprised, humbled, or enlightened them and pass the award on to ten other bloggers who are doing their ancestors proud. Here are my ten things. I’ve linked to those I blogged about.

1. I was enlightened to learn that the story my mother told about Eliza was true but not exactly in the way she told it. Eliza’s story is here. There are 3 parts to the story and a chart.
2. I was surprised to find that Annie Belle and her brass band ended up in Detroit after living in Florida and Tennessee.
3. I was saddened to learn that my great grandmother’s sister, Willie Allen Tulane had lost two of her three children in infancy.
4. I was enlightened and humbled to find that my great great grandfather Dock Allen tried to escape slavery by running and so met my great great grandmother Eliza and gained his freedom.
5. I was moved to tears when I found my grandmother Fannie Turner Graham’s father with his parents and siblings in the 1870 census and was able to take the family back a generation.
6. I was thrilled to receive copies of records from the Cleage plantation where my ancestors were slaves.
7. I was surprised when I found my grandmother Pearl Reed Cleage had a singing double.
8. I was enlightened but frustrated to trace Jacob Graham’s little Bible to it’s first owners and to find his death certificate but I was still unable to connect Jacob with my grandfather Mershell Graham.
9. I was ecstatic to find photographs of my first cousin once removed, Naomi Tulane Vincent and her husband using Google.
10. I was overjoyed when I was contacted by my husband’s cousin who took us back a generation or two on this mother’s side and shared photographs, stories, places… whoo hooo!

Christmas 1950

December 23, 2010Christmas, Cleages, Wordless Wednesday#me, #Pearl Cleage, #Springfield, #Union StreetKristin

Kris and Pearl Christmas in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Missing Christmas Carols 1944

December 22, 2010Advent Calendar, Christmas, Cleages, Grahams, Letters#Albert B. Cleage Jr, #Doris Graham Cleage. #LettersKristin

Christmas 1944 was my parents second Christmas together. My father, Albert B. Cleage Jr (Toddy) had taken a year off from the ministry to take classes in film making at UCLA. He planned to use it later in the church. My mother, Doris Graham, was working as a social worker and apparently taking a class too. They were living in Los Angeles, Ca, missing Detroit and their families. In the montage we have in the top/center my mother, below her is my father. The house my mother grew up in is the big photo of the house on Theodore, below is their Los Angeles apt. The last photo is my mother’s parents Mershell (Poppy) and Fannie (Nannie) Graham. This is a letter my mother wrote home Dec. 17, 1944.

December 17, 1944

Dear Folks,

Just a line to let you know we’re ok. Hope you all are well

It’s almost midnight and we are both (as usual) trying to get some school work done that we left until the last minute. Toddy has a paper due – and I have a book report.

Here it is – almost Christmas, but it doesn’t seem like it at all. No snow – no cold weather – no nothing. People out here don’t even sing Christmas carols on radio church services or anything. We heard you all have lots of snow. Well – guess I’d better go back to my book.

Merry Christmas

and a Happy New Year.

Love,
Toddy + Doris

Christmas Day 1944 – Part 1
Christmas Day 1944 – Part 2
Christmas Day 1944 – Part 3

My Mother, Doris Graham Cleage – 1952

December 16, 2010Cleages, Grahams, Photographs, sepia saturday#Doris Graham Cleage, #Sepia SaturdayKristin

My mother, Doris Graham Cleage at my Cleage grandparents house on Atkinson in Detroit, MI. I don’t know what the occasion was. My uncle Henry probably took the photo.

For more Sepia Saturday offerings CLICK.

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