Category Archives: Grahams

Mary Virginia Graham Colorized – 1938

October 17, 2014Grahams, sepia saturday#Mary V. Graham ElkinsKristin

These three photographs of my mother’s sister, my aunt Mary Vee were taken in and around 1938. The first two have been colorized, and not very well either. What was happening in my aunt’s life then? She was 18 years old and had graduated from Eastern High School and was attending business college, where she won a certificate for her speed and accuracy. After completing the program there, she worked for awhile at her uncle Jim McCall’s Newspaper. Later some friends of my grandparents from Montgomery helped her get a job at the City County Building as a secretary, where she worked for many years. Some years ago, Mary Vee talked with her daughter about her experience working at the paper.

“… her job was to read all these articles to Cousin Jim McCall, since he was blind. From what she read to him, he would formulate his editorial articles. She said he had a braille typewriter. She said she learned so much, just reading to him and talking to him about various topics. Mom said he was a wealth of information and he knew a lot about everything. She started working for them when she was 16 and continued every summer until she graduated from College. At that time, she said, it was due to a letter of recommendation from Uncle Jim that she landed the County job.”

What was happening in 1938: following a number of years of success with the US economy a recession hit which caused unemployment to rise back to 19%. In Europe Germany was continuing it’s strategy of persecuting the Jews and occupation in Czechoslovakia, the British prime minister Neville Chamberlain went to Germany fearing another world war and after agreeing to allow Hitler could occupy Czechoslovakia declared “Peace in our time” . The law changed in the US that meant the minimum hourly wage was 40 cents per hour for a 44 hour working week. On September 21st a giant hurricane slammed into the east coast with little or no warning from the Weather Service , the hurricane caused 40 ft waves to hit Long Island

and sixty three thousand people were left homeless and some 700 dead. On October 30th Orson Wells dramatization of “War of The Worlds” radio programme caused panic when it was broadcast more like a news breaking story than a play. Most of the world cheered when Germany’s Max Schmeling was defeated by a knock out in the first round by the great Joe Louis for the heavyweight championship.

And more: The Nanking Massacre took place in China during the continuing invasion of the Japanese during their invasion of China. The battle of Teruel, one of the most violent to occur during the Spanish Civil War, took place with German planes bombing the Spanish city. Guerilla warfare against Italy continued in Ethiopia.

Belle Isle Conservatory 1925

August 28, 2014Detroit, Grahams, sepia saturday#Mershell GrahamKristin

My grandfather Mershell Graham holding little Mershell and my aunt Mary V. They are sitting outside of the Conservatory on Detroit’s island park, Belle Isle. The photo is dated 1925. Usually my mother and her sister had their hair cut short but in this and a few other pictures they have braids.

On Belle Isle. My grandmother Fannie, Mary V, my mother Doris, Mershell – who looks like he has his arm bandaged. This photo is dated 1926.

A photo of the Belle Isle Conservatory taken by Maya, Mershell Grahams 2X great granddaughter. — A photo of the Belle Isle Conservatory taken by Maya, Mershell Grahams 2X great granddaughter August 2014.

More about Belle Isle – 2 posts and some info.

Hair Dryer sketch 1967

July 9, 2014Grahams, sepia saturday#Doris Graham Cleage, #hairKristin

doris1932_hair — My mother at age 9 in 1932.

I don’t remember my mother using a hair dryer except for a short period of time. In the aftermath of the Detroit Riot of 1967, many people began to wear afros. My mother had waist length wavy hair. She remembered it being very curly when she was a child and thought that when she cut it, it was going to become kinky enough to make an afro. Much to her chagrin, it did not. Until it grew out again, she would wash it, roll it up in curlers and sit under the dryer to get some curl.

Below is a sketch I made of my mother for a drawing class in 1967. At that time, my drawings added at least 20 years to family members age. It was not on purpose. Click on images to enlarge.

Doris_hair_dryer_blog — Doris Graham Cleage under the dryer.

doris_afro_single — My mother after her haircut.

Generations of Family Signatures

July 6, 2014Cleages, Grahams, The Book of Me#Albert B. Cleage Jr, #Albert B. Cleage Sr, #Doris Graham Cleage, #Mershell C. Graham, #Pearl Cleage, #Pearl Reed CleageKristin

When I started looking for signatures, I thought it would be easy because I have many letters through the generations. The problem was that they did not sign letters with both first and last names. Some repeatedly used nicknames. I was able to find most signatures by searching through documents – marriage licenses, social security cards, deeds, bills of sale and group membership cards. I finally found my sister’s signature in the return address on an envelope and if I’d thought of it sooner, might have found others in the same place.

missvirginia — The first page from my great grandmother, Jennie Virginia Allen Turner’s memory book. My mother’s, mother’s mother. The first generation born out of slavery and the first literate generation. I believe that she and her siblings all attended schools founded by the Congregational Church in Montgomery, AL after the Civil War.

My great grandfather Howard Turner was born in 1862 in Lowndes County, AL. He was literate but I do not know what school he and his siblings attended. I do not have a photograph of him but I did find his signature on my great grandparents marriage license.

ransom_handwriting — My great grandmother’s brother, Ransom Allen.

marymccall_handwritting — My great grandmother’s oldest sister, Mary Allen McCall.

My paternal grandmother Pearl Reed Cleage. I found her signature on some legal papers because all of the letters I have from her were signed “Mother”. I know that she graduated from high school in Indianapolis, IN and received all of her education in Indianapolis but I do not know the names of the schools. Her signature came from a Marion Indiana Probate record for her older brother’s will in 1946.

My paternal grandfather, Dr. Albert B. Cleage Sr. He attended the Athens Academy in Athens TN, Knoxville College and the Indiana Medical School in Indianapolis, IN. His signature came from his marriage license in 1910.

My maternal grandmother, Fannie Mae Turner Graham. Jennie’s daughter, she was educated in Montgomery, AL at State Normal which was a school from elementary to high school, started by the Congregational Church for Black students. Her signature came from the 1910 Montgomery Census form via ancestry.com. She was an enumerator.

My maternal grandfather Mershell C. Graham. My mother said he taught himself to read. The 1940 census said he finished 8th grade. From Coosada, Elmore Countty, Alabama. His signature came from his WW1 Draft registration card in 1917 via ancestry.com.

My father Albert B. Cleage Jr. His nickname was Toddy and he often signed his letters home Toddy. He attended Wingert elementary, Northwestern High, Wayne State in Detroit and Oberlin University in Ohio. His full signature came from a Purchaser’s recipt in 1957 for a building Central Congregational Church wanted to buy.

Doris Graham Cleage, Fannie’s daughter, my mother was born in 1923 in Detroit, MI. She attended Thomas Elementary School, Barbour Intermediate, Eastern High and Wayne State University in Detroit. Her signature came from a State of Michigan Teacher Oath in 1964. The “Doris” came from a letter home from Los Angeles in 1944.

My younger sister Pearl Michell Cleage is Jennie’s great granddaughter. She attended Roosevelt Elementary School , McMichael Junior High School and Northwestern High School in Detroit. She also Howard and Spellman Universities. Her signature came from the return address on a letter in 1991.

My own signature. I was raised in Detroit and attended Brady and Roosevelt elementary, Durfee and McMichael Junior high and Northwestern High school and Wayne State University, all in Detroit My own signature. Another great granddaughter of Jennie, I was raised in Detroit and attended Brady and Roosevelt Elementary Schools, Durfee and McMichael Junior High Schools, Northwestern High School and Wayne State University, all in Detroit. The bottom signature came from my third daughter’s birth certificate in 1976. The top one came from a deed for the sale of the house on Oregon where I was a witness in 1968.

Aunts & Uncles

May 25, 201452 weeks of personal history, Cleages, Grahams, The Book of Me#Abbie Allen Brown, #Anna Cleage Shreve, #Barbara Cleage Martin, #Gladys Cleage Evans, #Henry Cleage, #Hugh Cleage, #Louis Jacob Cleage, #Mary V. Graham ElkinsKristin

Pearl and Albert with their children and 3 of the grandchildren. My sister and I were at our other grandmothers and the youngest 4 were not yet born. 1951.

Because my family seemed to socialized mainly with each other and a few long time family friends, I saw a lot of my aunts and uncles. When I was growing up, we spent every Saturday with my mother’s sister, Mary V. and her daughters at our maternal grandparents. We all rode over and back together. We also lived down the street and went to the same school so we saw her often.

My father’s family was very close and worked on political and freedom causes together through the years. We all went up to Idlewild together. Uncle Louis was our family doctor. My first jobs were working with Henry and Hugh at Cleage Printers. I babysat one summer for Anna and Winslow. I worked at North Detroit General Hospital in the pharmacy with Winslow. I worked with Gladys and Barbara at the Black Star sewing factory. My mother married my Uncle Henry years after my parents divorced so he was like a second father to me. I raked their memories for stories about the past for decades.

My mother and her sister with cousin Dee Dee inbetween. Front row: Me, sister Pearl and cousin Barbara.

aunt_abbie — Aunt Abbie – my great grandmother Turner’s sister.

I had 4 aunts and 5 uncles, by blood. Two of my uncles died when they were children so I never knew them. All of my aunts married so there were 4 uncles by marriage. Three, Ernest, Frank and Edward, were eventually divorced from my aunts. I didn’t see them very much after that. Ernest lived in NYC and only appeared now and then so I didn’t know him very well beyond the fact he was very good looking and polite. Uncle Frank, who we called ‘Buddy’, was a an electrician. I remember him taking us to Eastern Market and boiling up a lot of shrimp,which we ate on soda crackers. And a story he told about a whirling dervish seen in the distance that turned into a dove. Edward, who we called Eddie was a doctor and I remember little about him except he was quiet and when I had a bad case of teenage acne, offered to treat it for me. Uncle Winslow was there to the end. I saw him often and I felt very connected to him. He had a wicked sense of humor and liked to talk about the past when I was in my family history mode. None of my uncles were married during my lifetime so I had no aunts by marriage.

We didn’t call our aunts and uncles “aunt” and “uncle”. We called them by their first names only. I did know two of my great aunts, my maternal grandmother’s sisters, Daisy and Alice. I knew one of my 2 X great aunts, Aunt Abbie. She lived with my grandparents until she died in 1966. Aunt Abbie was Catholic and I still have a Crucifix that she gave me.

I remember calling Daisy “Aunt Daisy”, but Alice was just “Alice”. Aunt Daisy had a distinctive voice and she laughed a lot. I remember going to dinner at their house once, and going by on holidays.

daisy_alice_1961_boblo — My maternal grandmother’s sisters, Aunts Alice and Daisy. On Bob-lo Island 1961.

There were a host of great aunts and uncles that I never met but I knew from stories about them so that I felt like I knew them. Aunt Minnie and Uncle Hugh were my paternal grandmother’s siblings. I must have met several of my paternal grandfather’s siblings but I was small and don’t remember them, Uncle Jake, Uncle Henry, Aunt Josie and their spouses. And on the maternal side I heard so much about my great grandmother Jennie’s siblings that I felt I knew them too. When I started researching, these were not strangers – Aunt Willie, Aunt Mary, Aunt Beulah, Aunt Anna.

header_eliza — 2X Great Grandmother Eliza and her children. My 2X great aunts and uncle. Aunt Mary, Ransom, Aunt Abbie, Aunt Beulah, Eliza, Great Grandmother Turner, Aunt Anna and Aunt Willie. Don’t know why Ransom was just ‘Ransom’.

We didn’t call any of my parent’s friends ‘aunt’ or ‘uncle’. Not surprising since we didn’t call our own aunts and uncles, ‘aunt’ and ‘uncle’.

Left to right: Albert, Josephine, Edward. Back L Henry, back R Jacob — Left to right: My grandfather Albert Cleage with my great aunt and great uncles, Aunt Josie, Uncle Ed. Back L Uncle Henry, back R Uncle Jake.

Cousins, Cousins and More Cousins

May 24, 2014Allen, Cleages, Grahams, Saturday Night Genealogy FunKristin

I haven’t participated Saturday Night Genealogy Fun lately but I came across this one and it seemed interesting so here is a tally of my 1st cousins, 2nd cousins and several degrees of removed cousins. I am several weeks late but you can find the original challenge at the link above.

1) Take both sets of your grandparents and figure out how many first cousins you have, and how many first cousins removed (a child or grandchild of a first cousin) you have.

My Paternal Side

The Cleage family about 1930 in front of their house on Scotten. From L to R Henry, Louis, (My grandmother) Pearl, Barbara, Hugh, Gladys, Anna, Albert Jr (My father) and (My grandfather) Albert Sr.

My father had 6 siblings.

His three brothers had no children.
His oldest sister had one son.
His second sister had four children.
His youngest sister had two daughters.
I have seven first cousins on this side.

cleage_cousins — My sister Pearl in the blue. Cousin Jan in the red. Behind Jan, Warren. Front right, Dale. Behind Dale, Ernie and behind him, me. About 1958.

shreveshenryblairgammiexmas — Front are my other 3 cousins. In zipped coat on left, Maria. Center, Blair. On right, Anna. Aunts & uncles in background.

Warren has two daughters. They have a total of seven children.
Jan has three daughters and one son. They have a total of five children.
Ernest has two children. No grandchildren.
Anna has four children and three grandchildren.
Maria has two children. No grandchildren.
Dale has one child. Unknown number of grandchildren.

I have 14 first cousins once removed on this side and 15 cousins twice removed here.

My Maternal Side

grahams+with+mershall_2 — Mershell holding my mother Doris, Fannie Graham in front Mershell Jr. and Mary Virginia. 1927

My mother had three siblings. Both of her brothers died as children. Her sister had 3 daughters.

daughters_grandaughters_'56 — My mother Doris & her sister Mary V with their children – Cousins Dee Dee, Barbara & Marilyn with dark hair. Sister Pearl and myself with braids.

Dee Dee has three children. They have eight children.
Barbara has two children. They have five children.
Marilyn has one son, who has two children.

I have three first cousins on this side, six cousins once removed and 15 cousins twice removed.

This makes a grand total for me of ten first cousins, 22 first cousins once removed and 24 cousins twice removed.

2) Extra Credit: Take all four sets of your great-grandparents and figure out how many second cousins you have, and how many second cousins once removed you have.

Second Cousins are the children of your parent’s 1st cousin and the grandchildren of your grandparent’s siblings (your granduncles/grandaunts).

Howard and Jennie (Allen) Turner – Maternal great grandparents

My maternal grandmother had two sisters. Neither of them married or had children.

"Jennie Allen Turner and Daughters" — Fannie, Jennie (mother) Alice. Daisy standing.

William and Mary (Jackson) Graham – Paternal Great grandparents.

My maternal grandfather’s sister Annie Graham

My maternal grandfather, Mershell Graham, had four siblings.
Crawford and William disappeared from the records after 1880.
Jacob and Abraham died childless.
Annie had 4 children. My mother had four first cousins. That gives me four first cousins once removed. Between them they had 20 children, giving me 20 second cousins.

Buford Averitt and Anna Ray Reed

My paternal grandmother Pearl Reed Cleage had 7 siblings.

Josephine had two children. Unfortunately the family lost contact with those children after 1900.
Sarah had nine children. Between them, they had 14 children.
Louise had two children. Between them they had six children.
Hugh had four children. Between them they had 13 children.
Minnie had 12 children. Between them they had 30 children.

My father and his brothers with Uncle Hugh Reed Averetts sons. — Two Reed cousins. My father and his brothers with Uncle Hugh Reed Averett’s sons. Front are Henry and Hugh Cleage. Back are my father Albert Cleage, Hugh Averett, Thomas Averett and Louis Cleage.

My father had 29 first cousins on his mother’s side. He had 63 first cousins once removed on his mother’s side. Josie’s Branch disappeared. That gives me 63 known second cousins on this side.

Louis and Celia (Rice) Cleage

cuzcleages — Cleage Cousins – some of Albert, Henry and Edwards children.

My paternal grandfather Albert B. Cleage had four siblings.
Henry had four children. They had a combined total of three children.
Edward had six children. They had a combined total of seven children.
Josie had five children. They had a combined total of 22 children.

My father had 15 first cousins on his father’s side. He had 29 first cousins once removed. That gives me 29 second cousins on this side.

So, on my father’s side I have 43 first cousins once removed and 93 second cousins. On my mother’s side I have 4 first cousins once removed and 20 second cousins making a combined total of 47 first cousins once removed and 113 second cousins.

How Many Second Cousins Once Removed?

Then I realized that all of my parents second cousins were my second cousins once removed. So, I have been updating and looking at my ancestry tree. I think I’m about ready to take a count.

Old County Building and Mary V. Elkins

March 21, 2014Cleages, Detroit, Grahams, sepia saturday#Henry Cleage, #illustrated news, #Mary V. Graham ElkinsKristin

When I saw the prompt, I immediately thought of some photos of a building in Detroit that my uncle Henry Cleage took. I found them in the first place I looked (amazingly). They aren’t labeled or dated but looking at a few old Detroit buildings I found they are of the old County Building. I would date them around 1950 from the people and cars. These are only a few of the many. Court was held in the building and Henry was a lawyer. Perhaps he had some cases there.

“The cornerstone was laid Oct. 20, 1897, in a ceremony that the Detroit Free Press called at the time “simple but impressive.” Under a headline in capital letters proclaiming, “It is laid!”, the Free Press wrote that it had rained all morning the day of the ceremony, but just at 2 p.m., as officials were gathering at Old City Hall, the sun broke and the clouds parted. A band led the procession down Cadillac Square to a platform decked out in American flags in front of the county building, where Judge Edgar O. Durfee had the honor of laying the cornerstone. Judge Robert E. Frazer gave what the Free Press called a “stirring address,” and Mayor William C. Maybury also participated.” Go to Old Wayne County Building – Historic Detroit to read a detailed history of the Old County Building.

“One of the building’s most prominent features is the pair of large sculptures flanking its center tower and portico. The copper sculptures are known as quadrigae, a Roman chariot drawn by four horses. The pieces were done by New York sculptor J. Massey Rhind, who intended the quadrigae to symbolize progress. They feature a woman standing in a chariot led by four horses with two smaller figures on either side.” From Old Wayne County Building – Historic Detroit

Mary Vee 1940 - In front of Plymouth Congregational Church. — Mary Vee 1940 – In front of Plymouth Congregational Church.

My mother’s sister, Mary V. Elkins, got a job at the County Building in 1940.

“June 10, 1940 — Mary Virginia has just gotten (through Jim and May) a good job at the County Bldg — God is so good to us. M.V. won high honor in her business Institute for typing and short hand.” Fannie Mae Turner Graham’s little diary.

Mary V. attended business school after she graduated from Eastern High School, then worked for awhile at her cousin’s Newspaper office until he helped her get a job in the old county building. She held the job for many years and received a proclamation from the City of Detroit for her service to the city during a Family Reunion when she was in her 80s.

Wayne County Courthouse (2) — Wayne County Courthouse

Old Wayne County Building could soon be allowed to seek buyers. “A Wayne County Commission committee approved a nonbinding agreement today that would settle a nearly 3-year-old lawsuit against the owners of the Old Wayne County Building and allow the owners to seek potential buyers.” From an April, 2013 article in the Detroit Free Press.

Fannie Mae Turner Graham 1888 – 1974

March 12, 2014Grahams#Alice Turner, #Fannie Turner GrahamKristin

Today would be my grandmother Fannie’s 126th birthday, had she not died in 1974. Here is a photograph of her with friends standing on the steps of Plymouth Congregational Church on Detroit’s Eastside, in 1936.

1936hatsfanniechurchsteps — “Mrs. C. L. Thompson, Miss Watt, Mrs. Martha Lee (Died July 1937), F. Graham
Taken as we talked on our Church steps 5/17/36
By Jim Dunbar” The Church was Plymouth Congregational Church. F. Graham is my grandmother Fannie Mae Turner Graham.

When my sister, cousins and I were growing up in Detroit, my grandmother would make us birthday cakes. They were always yellow cake with pineapple filling between the layers and chocolate icing over all. The recipe below is in the front of my mother’s falling apart cookbook. My daughter is going to make one for us this weekend and I will take a photograph and add it to this page.

Men Wearing Hats in Poppy’s Yard – 1961

March 6, 2014Grahams, sepia saturday#backyard photosKristin

On May 21, 1961, my grandparents, Fannie and Mershell Graham, lined up their guests for the ritual photographs in their Eastside Detroit backyard. These are streaky polaroids. One of the first things I noticed about the lower photograph is the uncut grass. I don’t remember ever seeing it like that.

"Theodore backyard Rance Allen" — Verso: “Our backyard 9-21-1961 (right to left) John Wesley, John Bishops son, Ernest and Shell”

In the photo above (from left to right), my grandfather Mershell stands on the left. Ernest and John Bishop’s son are in the middle and my grandmother’s first cousin, John Wesley Allen is on the far right. I don’t know who Ernest, John Bishop or his son were and I don’t have enough information to look into the matter right now. John Wesley was visiting from Chicago with his wife, Bobbie, who appears in the women’s line below.

"theodore backyard bobbie visits" — Verso: “Bobbie, Bluetta, Mrs Bishop, Daisy, Fan, Alice, Abbie. Taken by John Wesley Allen in our back yard 9-21-61. Daisy passed 11-24-61. Her last picture.”

We start this picture with my 2x great Aunt, Abbie Allen Brown on the left end. Abbie was aunt to my grandmother and her sisters and to John Wesley Allen in the other photo. Next to Abbie is my grandmother’s youngest sister, Alice Turner; then my grandmother Fannie Turner Graham; sister Daisy Turner. Next in line are two women I don’t know. I’m not sure the one second from the right is named Bluetta but that’s what it looked like to me. On the far right is John Wesley Allen’s wife, Bobbie Conyer Allen.

All of my direct family members in these photos were born in Alabama. Bobbie was born in Sumter county Georgia. Their ages range in age from Alice, who was 53 up to Aunt Abbie, who was 85. Daisy died unexpectedly from an aneurysm on November 11 of that same year. This was her last picture. After that Alice moved in with my grandparents and Aunt Abbie.

This weeks prompt shows a row of fenced yards with three men in hats standing in the alley.

“Hands Up!” – Charles Watkins

March 5, 2014African-American Genealogy & Slave Ancestry Research, Grahams, Montgomery Alabama, One Place StudyKristin

I have decided to go through my grandparent’s photographs and see how many of their friends I can trace. Yesterday I was looking at my grandfather, Mershell C. Graham’s friends from home when I came across “Hands up. Just a little desperato. You know why.”

I turned it over and saw there was a bit written there in pencil. Holding it up to the sunshine coming in the window, I was able to read: “From my friend Charlie Watkins. 10/22/07. Mershell Graham. Chas’ wife Emma Dee died 1949.”

In 1907 my grandfather was still living in Montgomery, Alabama. When looking for information about people who aren’t relatives, I’ve found it very helpful to start a tree for them on Ancestry. I’m able to put all of the information I find in context. I made Charles Watkins with wife Emma Dee (maiden name unknown at that point) the starting couple.

I was zipping along finding information when I decided to check out some photographs that were suggested. Imagine my surprise when I realized that Charles Watkins was the brother of William Watkins that I wrote about earlier here He Hid Beneath the Floor. It tells the story of Victor Tulane, my 2X great uncle by marriage, hiding a family friend, Montgomery dentist, William Watkins, under their floor to save him from white vigilantes. When I wrote that post I researched the Watkins family. I recognized the photograph of their father, William Watkins Sr.

Charles married Emma Thompson, a seamstress, in 1910 in Montgomery. By 1917 the family was living in Chicago, IL. They had two children, William born in 1912 and Sarah born in 1916. Emma was no longer working. Charles was a carpenter, as his father had been. By 1920 they were living in Los Angeles, California. He was the first member of the family to move west. Others followed later as most members of the family left Montgomery after brother William was smuggled out to escape the mob.

Charles Watkins died in Los Angeles at the age of 74. I still don’t know why he was a little desperado.

Finding Eliza