More about Alice (Wright) Turner

Turner
Alice was my grandmother, Fannie’s youngest sister.   I knew that Alice was my grandmother’s half sister and had a different father but all I’d ever heard was what my mother wrote me about him, 
“Grandmother stayed single until she was about 37 or 38 when she married someone Mother hated – looked Italian, hardly ever worked.  Liked a good time. Fathered Alice and left when she was very small.  Somehow when mother spoke of him I had the feeling he would have like to have taken advantage of her.  She was about 20 and had given up two college scholarships to stay and help Grandmother.”
And then his name on the chart my mother wrote out for me that has “Wright” squeezed in after my great grandmother Jennie’s name.  At one time I was hopeful of finding him with the family in the 1910 census since Alice was born in 1908 in Montgomery. But, no, he was already gone.  I looked for Wright’s nearby and there was a Sallie Wright on the same page but I couldn’t find any connection to her and a Mr. Wright.  I sent for Alice’s death certificate and her social security application hoping for more information about Mr. Wright.  
I received the Death Certificate first.  My Aunt Mary V. was the informant. I saw that Alice’s father’s name was given as “Howard Wright”. I doubted it. Jennie Allen Turner Wright’s first husband was Howard Turner. Possibly Mary V. didn’t remember his actual name and so put in Howard.  I looked for Howard Wright and found none born in North Carolina and in Alabama during the time.  
A few days ago Alice’s Social Security Application arrived.  It looks like my grandmother Fannie helped or corrected Alice’s form. By the time she filled this out, Alice’s mother and other sister, Daisy, were dead. She was living with my grandparents, Fannie and Mershell Graham, on Theodore. Her schizophrenia had been recognized or surfaced and perhaps she applied in order to receive social security payments since she had not worked under social security.  At any rate, there is a whole name on the form – John W. Wright.  I looked for him and found a few John W. Wrights born in NC in Montgomery and the right age range, but no marriage record and never with my great grandmother.  The search continues.

Checking in at "Winter Wonderland"

Grahams,

While looking through newspaper archives awhile ago, I unexpectedly found an article with a photograph of my mother. In the photograph below she is seated at the table checking people into the dance.  I looked for a photograph of the hotel where the dance was held and found the old postcard. Next I looked for something about The Girl Friends Society. I had no luck at first. Items about the Girls Friendly Society kept turning up and it wasn’t the same group.  After I dropped “Society” in my search, I found several  things, including the history of the group below with a link to their website. The Springfield, Mass. Chapter was founded in 1935 and they celebrated their 75th Anniversary in 2010.  

I never knew my mother to be part of any posh groups so this was all news to me. In February of 1951, my father was pastor of St. John’s Congregational Church in Springfield.  I was 4 and my sister had just turned 2 in December. We moved to Detroit in the Fall of that year.

“Checking in at the “Winter Wonderland – Wonderland-shown above, at the 15th annual charity cabaret dance, held last night at the Hotel Kimball by the Springfield Chapter of the Girl Friends Society of America, are, left to right, Mrs. Doris Cleage, chairman of the ticket committee, Miss Helen DuBose and Harold Edmonds.Nearly 150 patrons of the Society’s charities attended the dance, which the Springfield Girl Friends termed the “Winter Wonderland.”  Dancing was to the music of Lenwood Cook’s Seven Sharps.  
The Springfield chapter has a membership of 12, including Mrs. J. Clifford Clarkson, president: Mrs Nello Greene, vice-president; Mrs. Marian Kennedy secretary; Mrs Irttle Funn, treasurer:  Mrs. Hazel Fitch corresponding secretary; and Mrs. Doris Cleage, parliamentarian.  Other members are Mrs. Maude Boone, Mrs. Cordella Clarke, Mrs Evelyn Delworth, Mrs. Charlotte McGoddwin, Mrs. Melle TAylor and Mrs. Theda Wilson.
“Hotel Kimball Springfield, Massachusetts. Ranks with the finest in the country.  A magnificant hotel, modern and metropolitan in every appointment.”

The History of The Girl Friends®, Inc.

* Founded during the Harlem Renaissance in 1927 by eleven young women based on friendship and community involvement

* One of the oldest social/civic organizations of African-American women in the United States

* Incorporated in 1938 under the legal guidance of Baltimore attorney Thurgood Marshall (spouse of Girl Friend Vivian Marshall)

* Founders of the organization were Eunice Shreeves, Lillie Mae Riddick, Henri Younge, Elnorist Younge, Thelma Whittaker, Dorothy Roarke, Helen Hayes, Connye Cotterell, Rae O. Dudley, Anna S. Murphy and Ruth Byrd

* Bessye Bearden, newspaper columnist, civic leader and mother of celebrated artist, Romare Bearden, served as the  groups chaperone and advisor.

* Currently there are 45 chapters across the country, and over 1400 women of prominence in membership

*The first chapter expansion was in 1928 with the formation of the Philadelphia chapter, with Baltimore (1930),  Boston (1931) and New Jersey (1932) and New Haven (1932) soon added

*The first Conclave (national meeting of chapters) was hosted by New York in 1933

*Organization colors are apple and emerald green, its flower is the Marshall Neal rose (now called the yellow tea rose)

*Since those formative years, the chain of friendship has grown to embrace a continent. Girl Friends have founded schools, headed colleges, earned all manners of academic and professional degrees, written books, headed their own businesses, saved lives, been elected to Congress and named to the cabinet of the US President. They have also been devoted wives, mothers, sisters and friends, and involved members of their communities.

*Currently there are 45 chapters across the country, and over 1400 women in membership.

Copyright 2007, The Girl Friends,® Inc. The Girl Friends® is a registered service mark of The Girl Friends, Inc.

Note from J.R. Couch, Esq.: The Girls’ Friendly Society of America was part of the Episcopal Church. https://www.gfsus.org/.  It is completely separate from the organization, the Girl Friends, Incorporated.

Progress on the dollhouse

dollhouse
Since posting on the dollhouse last week slow but steady progress has been made. Jim took over the sanding and glueing.
 Jim begins some serious sanding.
 Sanding the floor.  I don’t think this wood has been paint free since before the dollhouse was built.
The back has been removed.
 Almost free of paint and ready for cracks and holes to be filled.
 Jim filled the cracks down the side between the two pieces of wood Poppy put together with spackling paste.  He filled some holes in the wood in too.
The dollhouse sits clamped and drying.
I have not been just twiddling my thumbs while Jim works on the house.  I’ve gone through what was left from my children’s dollhouse days and collected a few things.
Free samples of “Allure Resilient Plank Flooring” from Home Depot that I am going to cut down to dollhouse size planks for wood floors and tile squares for the kitchen.
 Muslin for curtains.  I will do some folding paper window shades for some windows.
 The old wood stove is the only original furnishing. It needs to be polished and also needs covers for top. The tea set I bought years ago at a dollar store. I didn’t realize I was collecting things for when I fixed up the house.  The bottle caps are newly collected for future pies.  The little chest is from my children’s day.
 A rocking chair I made for my kids dollhouse. A cream holder I saved a few years ago because it looked like a dollhouse sized waste basket. A box of National Geographic magaziness my daughter made long ago and some books I made last week from free printies and styrofoam. Behind all is a cabinet I bought cheap at Michael’s several years ago because it looked like it needed a dollhouse to be in.
 Acorn caps from our bountiful supply that will be sanded to sit flat as wooden bowls.  A plastic case for gum massagers that looks like a future laptop to me.
This egg carton plastic will be cut down and made into window greenhouses for the kitchen.

Dr. Albert B. Cleage and Miss Pearl D. Reed were married at noon Thursday…

Carnival of Genealogy, sepia saturday,
My grandmother, Pearl Doris Reed, was born in Lebanon, Kentucky in 1886.  She the youngest of the seven children of Anna Allen Reed.  Pearl’s father was Buford Averitt, a white physician.  By 1888 Pearl’s oldest brother, George, had moved to Indianapolis Indiana to work at Van Camps cannery. The rest of the family soon followed.
My grandfather Albert Buford Cleage, Sr was born in Louden, Tennessee in 1883.  He was the youngest of the five children of Louis and Celia (Rice) Cleage.  The family eventually moved to Athens Tennessee.  In 1906 he graduated from Knoxville College and moved to Indianapolis to attend Purdue University College of Medicine.  Three of his older siblings were already there.  He moved in with his brother Jacob and his wife Gertrude. His brother Henry also lived in the house.
Albert and Pearl met at church.  They both signed the petition to organize a United Presbyterian Church on April 30, 1907.   Pearl sang in the church choir and also at community and church events.  By the time I heard her sing she had a frail, old voice.  I wish I could have heard her back in her prime.  In 1907 Pearl was 21. Albert was 24.
The courtship lasted for three years. Pearl’s mother was against the relationship because she thought Albert was “too dark”.  Of course this caused problems with them meeting and going anywhere together.  Many letters were exchanged and they met at church functions.  Their houses were about 2.3 miles apart.  It was a straight trolley ride down N. Illinois in those days. Today that would be a 23 minute ride by bus.  I imagine it took a bit longer by trolley in the early 1900s.
As Albert neared the end of his course of study, his thoughts turned to where he would practice and to their marriage.  They set the date for October, 1910.  He graduated in June and as an intern was appointed to the City Hospital. On September 2 he received his Physicians License and on September 29, 1910 Albert and Pearl applied for a marriage license.  Later that day, they were married in a quiet ceremony at Pearl’s house. The Indianapolis Star column “News of Colored Folk” contained this item,
“In the presence of relatives and immediate friends of the two families Dr. Albert B. Cleage, Intern at the City Dispensary and Miss Pearl D. Reed, 2730 Kenwood Avenue were married at noon Thursday. The Rev. D.F. White of the Witherspoon United Presbyterian Church officiated.  Immediately after the ceremony Dr. and Mrs. Cleage left on their wedding tour, during which they will visit the Appalachian Exposition at Knoxville, Tenn., and points farther south.”  The points farther south would have been his family’s home in Athens, Tennessee.
Another piece News of Colored Folk, dated Oct. 2, 1910 said, “The Witherspoon United Presbyterian Church and Sunday school gave a linen shower Friday evening in honor of Dr. and Mrs. Albert Cleage at the home of Mr. and Mrs. R.A. Kelley 1917 Highland Place. Dr. and Mrs. Cleage have returned recently from their bridal trip to Knoxville, Tenn, and are at home at 913 Fayette street.”
The add in the lower corner of the collage above has several pictures of women in traveling suits and big hats. The photograph of my grandmother over it shows her wearing a similar suit and hat, although not quite as flamboyant. Although this photograph was taken later in 1910 at a medical convention, I imagine this is the outfit she wore for her wedding tour. The little blue house is the one they came home to on Fayette street and the photo in the corner shows two women and my grandfather and my very happy looking grandmother at the medical convention later that year.
My grandparents ended up in Detroit where my grandfather practiced medicine and they raised their seven children.  They were together 46 years, until my grandfather’s death in 1956. There are 9 grandchildren, 21 great grandchildren and 20 great great grandchildren.  We’ve spread out over the United States and Canada.
This is a Sepia Saturday offering and an entry in the Fall Marriages Genealogy Carnival.

The Ancestors’ Geneameme

Investigations

Inspired by Angela Y. Walton-Raji over at My Ancestor’s Name, I finally did The Ancestor’s Geneameme.

It was started by Geniaus several days ago.
The list should be annotated in the following manner:
Things you have already done or found: bold face type
Things you would like to do or find: italicize (color optional)
Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type
You are encouraged to add extra comments in brackets after each item 
Which of these apply to you?


The Ancestors’ Geneameme
1.  Can name my 16 great-great-grandparents.
I can name 12.5.  Robert ALLEN, Clara HOSKINS, John AVERITT, Elizabeth Marshall TUCKER, Frank CLEAGE, Judy CLEAGE, ? RICE (He’s the 1/2), Joseph JACKSON, PRISSA JACKSON, Joe TURNER, Emma JONES, Dock ALLEN, Eliza WILLIAMS.
2.  Can name over 50 direct ancestors. [yes]
3.   Have photographs or portraits of my 8 great-grandparents I have photos of two. Celia Rice Cleage Sherman and Jennie Virginia Allen Turner.
4. Have an ancestor who was married more than three times.
One had 4 different partners but was not married to all of them.
5. Have an ancestor who was a bigamist [No.]
6. Met all four of my grandparents [Yes. I grew up in the same city with them and saw them often. One died when I was 11. Two lived until I was in my twenties and One lived until I was 35.]
7.  Met one or more of my great-grandparents [Met one, Jennie Virginia Allen Turner. The others died before I was born.]
8. Named a child after an ancestor [All of my children have a family name and an African name.]
9. Bare an ancestor’s given name/s [No but I do have my mother’s maiden name as a middle name, as do several cousins.]
10.  Have an ancestor from Great Britain or Ireland [Yes]
11.  Have an ancestor from Asia [Well, 23 & me says I do]
12.  Have an ancestor from Continental Europe [Not that I’m aware of]
13.  Have an ancestor from Africa [Yes]
14.  Have an ancestor who was an agricultural laborer [Yes]
15.  Have an ancestor who had large land holdings [Joe Turner owned a lot of land but I don’t know how much.  Need to find those records.]
16.  Have an ancestor who was a holy man – minister, priest, rabbi [My father was a minister. The Grandparents did start some churches.]
17.  Have an ancestor who was a midwife [No. I used to want to be a midwife though.]
18.  Have an ancestor who was an author [My father and now my sister]
19.  Have an ancestor with the surname Smith, Murphy or Jones [Emma Jones Turner]
20.  Have an ancestor with the surname Wong, Kim, Suzuki or Ng [No]
21.  Have an ancestor with a surname beginning with X [No]
22.  Have an ancestor with a forename beginning with Z [No]
23.  Have an ancestor born on 25th December [My grandfather Mershell C. Graham did not know the day he was born and picked December 25.]
24.   Have an ancestor born on New Year’s Day [Nobody in my tree was born January 1.]
25.   Have blue blood in your family lines [No royalty]
26.   Have a parent who was born in a country different from my country of birth [No]
27.   Have a grandparent who was born in a country different from my country of birth[No]
28.   Can trace a direct family line back to the eighteenth century [Yes] 
29.   Can trace a direct family line back to the seventeenth century or earlier [No]
30.  Have seen copies of the signatures of some of my great-grandparents [yes]
31.  Have ancestors who signed their marriage certificate with an X [Yes]
32.  Have a grandparent or earlier ancestor who went to university [Yes Grandfather Albert B. Cleage Sr. & Great Grandfather Buford Averitt, both finished Medical School.

33.  Have an ancestor who was convicted of a criminal offense [Great Grandfather Lewis Cleage spent time in jail for various minor offenses. Other non-direct ancestors spent time in prison.]
34.  Have an ancestor who was a victim of crime [Great grandmother Jennie Allen Turner land was stolen after her husband died. Not to mention those held in slavery for generations.]
35.  Have shared an ancestor’s story online or in a magazine [On my blogs I share them all the time. More to come.]
36.  Have published a family history online or in print [The blogs are sort of a serial history but I hope to do a more organized one, perhaps next year I will start]
37.  Have visited an ancestor’s home from the 19th or earlier centuries [No, but if any are still standing would love to.]
38.  Still have an ancestor’s home from the 19th or earlier centuries in the family [No]
39.  Have a  family bible from the 19th Century [Not a family Bible but I have a pocket New Testament that came to my grandfather, Mershell Graham through his brother Jacob who got it from his doctor who was gifted it by relatives in 1875.]

40.  Have a pre-19th century family bible [No]

The Dollhouse Poppy Made Me

dollhouse, I'm a Giant Dollhouse Challenge

The dollhouse Poppy, my grandfather made me in the 1950s when I was 9 years old was the envy of my sister and cousins in it’s prime. A few days ago I read on  The Magpies Nest  about her project to fix up her daughter’s old doll house and it inspired me to do the same with mine.  I asked my husband to dig it out of the long, narrow closet where it has been for the past 4 years. Poor house! It went through my childhood and then my children’s childhoods and being stored for years and years and it is much the worse for wear.   Right now the poor dollhouse looks like one of those falling-to-pieces houses.  Houses with a grand past that have been divided into rooming houses or just left to rot.

I have started my rehab by tearing off the contact paper wallpaper and removing the third story where the wood was rotting and scrubbing the whole thing down. I want to keep the gist of the house but make some changes I’ve always wanted to make, like adding stairs and returning it to the two-sided access dollhouse it used to be. I will post more photos as the work progresses.

There is a box of furnishings that I haven’t had the heart to look at yet. I doubt if any of my original furnishings have survived this long but I hope there are some good pieces in there.

Other posts on the dollhouse

Dollhouse update
Dollhouse update #2
Dollhouse update – hardwood floor
The First Dollhouse Doll
Dollhouse update – Floor finished, Roof On
Dollhouse Fireplace and the Real Thing.
The Fireplace

They Worked at Annis Furs

Detroit, sepia saturday, Turner,
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.

The staff at Annis Furs in Downtown Detroit. Taken in the 1920’s.  My great grandmother, Jennie Virginia Allen Turner is in the second row, far left. Her daughter Alice is next to her. Skip the next woman and her daughter Daisy is there, 4th from the left.  The three of them got jobs at Annis Furs soon after moving to Detroit from Montgomery, Alabama in 1922.  I remember a little teddy bear Daisy made for my younger cousin Marilyn Elkins out of scraps of real fur. To read more about my Great Grandmother Turner, click Jennie Virginia Allen Turner.

Above is a photograph from the Burton collection at the Detroit Public Library.  The Annis Fur Company is in the corner building. Although this was taken in 1917 I think the area looked pretty much the same 7 years later.  To see a photograph of the Woodward Ave in 1910 click at Shorpy. You can see Annis Fur Post and Grinell Bros Pianos on the left, looking down the crowded street, past the Eureka Vacuum sign.

For more photos of crowds of women and other fascinating subjects, click Sepia Saturday.