Do the Women Who Have Babies After 33 In My Family, Live Longer?

July 10, 2014InvestigationsKristin

Women Who Have Babies After 33 Live Longer “…women who had their last child after the age of 33 doubled their chances of living to age 95 or older compared with women whose last child was born before their 30th birthday…The natural ability to have a child at an older age likely indicates that a woman’s reproductive system is aging slowly, and therefore so is the rest of her body,’ said Perls.”

Thia made me take a look at my family tree to see the age of mother’s at the birth of their last child and how long they lived.

Maternal side

My 2 X great grandmother Eliza Williams Allen (1839 – 1917) gave birth to her youngest child when she was 40. Eliza died 78.

Eliza’s daughters:

Mary Allen McCall (1856-1937) gave birth to her youngest at 38. Mary died at 81.

My great grandmother Jennie Virginia Allen Turner (1866 – 1954) gave birth to her youngest at 42. Jennie died at 88.

Willie Lee Allen Tulane (1873-1954) gave birth to her youngest child at 27. She died at 80.

Abbie Allen Brown (1876-1966) gave birth to her youngest child at 21. She died at 89.

Beulah Allen Pope (1879 – 1962) gave birth to her youngest child at 31. She died at 77.

My grandmother Fannie Turner Graham (1888 – 1974) gave birth to her youngest child, at 40. Fannie died at 87.

Her daughters

Mary Virginia Graham Elkins (1920-2009) gave birth to her youngest child at 34. She died at 89.

My mother, Doris Graham Cleage (1923-1982) gave birth to her youngest child at 25. She died at 59.

Paternal side

My great grandmother Anna Allen Reed (1849 – 1910) gave birth to her youngest child at 37. She died at 62.

Her daughters

Sarah Reed Busby (1870 – 1954) gave birth to her youngest child at 44. She died at 83.

Louise Reed Shoemaker (1873 – 1938) gave birth to her youngest at 31. She died at 64.

Minnie Reed Mullins (1878-1963) gave birth to her youngest child at 43. She died at 84.

*My grandmother Pearl Reed Cleage (1886-1982) gave birth to her youngest child at 39. She died at 96.

Pearl’s daughters

*Barbara Cleage Martin (1920 – still living) gave birth to her youngest at 31. She is 94.

* Gladys Cleage Evans (1922- still living) gave birth to her youngest at 37. She is 92.

Anna Cleage Shreve (1925-2013) gave birth to her youngest child at 37. She died at 88.

My great grandmother Celia Rice Cleage Sherman (1855-abt 1931) gave birth to her youngest child at 28. She died at 76.

Her daughter Josephine Cleage (1873-1956) gave birth to her youngest child at 36. She died at 82.

_________

Of the 19 women in my study, 13 had children beyond the age of 33. Two of the 12 lived beyond 90. My grandmother is the only one who lived past 94. She lived to 96. One, Gladys is 92 and still living.

4 of the women gave birth to their youngest child in their 20s.

6 of the 17 did not have children after 33. 1 of the 5 lived beyond 90, she is 94 and still living.

I guess I should do a graph using this information. Maybe tomorrow.

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.

Cleage for Congress – 1966

July 3, 2014Cleages, Detroit#Albert B. Cleage Jr, #illustrated newsKristin

cleage-cockrel — Flyer for political rally. – click all images to enlarge.

BLACK POWER POTENTIAL: Black Power advocate Stokely Carmichael (later Kwame Ture, right at mic) endorsing the political candidacies of law student Kenneth V. Cockrel, Sr. (left of Carmichael) and Shrine of the Black Madonna founder Rev. Albert B. Cleage, Jr. (later Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman, fourth from left, hands in pockets), Jeffries Projects, Detroit, July 30, 1966. PHIL WEBB PHOTO/THE DETROIT NEWS. (See link to article this photo accompanied at the end of this post.)

1966_BlackPower@TheJeffries — Another News photograph from the rally. Rev. Albert B. Cleage Jr., Leontine Smith, Oscar Hand, Stokely Carmichael.

Below is a newsletter from the Cleage for Congress campaign.

Unfortunately neither my father or Ken Cockrel won. I remember passing out campaign literature at Jefferies Projects all day with Jim, now my husband, and attending Ken Cockrel’s “Victory Party ” that night in a flat on Wayne State University’s campus. I just remember it as being almost devoid of furniture and dusty. Jim and General Baker gave me a ride home after midnight where I found that my father, who was supposed to tell my mother that I was going to the party and would be late, got involved in his own after election activities and forgot. Talk about talking fast. I was 20 years old.

To bring history back to the present, read The Roots and Responsibility of Black Power – a reprint in The Michigan Citizen of remarks by historian Paul Lee made at the Detroit City Council meeting on Tuesday, April 3, 2012. He wasaddressing the takeover of the government of the majority-Black city of Detroit by Michigan’s Republican governor. He appealed to their sense of history, to the struggle that Detroiters had gone through in the past to gain political power. The Council voted to turn the city over to a manager appointed by the governor.

Wading in the Water

June 27, 2014sepia saturday#Doris Graham Cleage, #IdlewildKristin

In the summer of 1945 my parents moved from Los Angeles, where my father had been studying film making, to Springfield, MA. He was the new pastor of St. John’s Congregational Church, an historic African American church. During their trip across country they stopped in Detroit to see their families. A trip to my Uncle Louis’ cottage in Idlewild was included. More photographs from that trip can be seen here – Idlewild 1945.

idlewild_reflections — My mother Doris Graham Cleage wading in Lake Idlewild with family friend Lillian Payne.

For more Sepia Saturday offerings, CLICK!

Forgotten Wedding

June 19, 2014Cleages, sepia saturdayKristin

I had forgotten all about my Aunt Barbara’s 2nd wedding to Ernest Smith until a friend sent me these strips. It took place the day after Christmas, December 26, 1966. You can see the Christmas tree in the first frame, first strip. My grandmother never put the tree up before Christmas Eve. The marriage was short lived and ended after several years. Barbara became Cardinal Nandi and went on to successfully manage the Bookstores and Cultural Centers of the Shrines of the Black Madonna.

You can click to enlarge the pictures a bit.

The reception. — The reception on Atkinson at my Grandmother’s house. There I am in the first frame, between my cousin and my sister

More from the reception. There I am in the first frame, between my cousin and my sister. — More from the reception.

“How Do We Program for Power?” – June 1968

June 13, 2014Cleages, Sermon Notes#Albert B. Cleage JrKristin

It was 1968. In the United States and around the world there were demonstrations, wars in Vietnam and Biafra, police actions in Mexico and Chicago, riots and tanks in the streets of Prague. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were assassinated. People fighting for their rights were wondering how to change their tactics to fit the repression.

Today is the 103th Anniversary of the birth of my father, Albert B. Cleage Jr (Aka Jaramogi Abebe Ageyeman). In remberance, I am posting his sermon notes from June 23, 1968 where he preached about changes needed to program ourselves for Power instead of slavery. Click to enlarge.

A Feeling of Home

June 8, 2014memories, The Book of MeKristin

family_evening_blog — This picture comes from a book belonging to my Graham grandparents ‘The Young Folks Treasury – Ideal Home Life.’ I always thought of it as being in one of the big houses on East Grand Blvd. we drove past on the way from the grandparents to Belle Isle. I didn’t know it was a Swedish. When we lived in the parsonage on Chicago, we had dining room furniture that was big and heavy and looked sort of like this. We only ate one meal there, the Thanksgiving dinner before my parents separated in 1954. It may still be in use in room off of Fellowship Hall at the Shrine of the Black Madonna on Linwood. Anyway, it always had a feeling of ‘home’ for me, even though I never witnessed a scene like this in real life. I probably read too many old books.

When I was growing up, home was where my family lived. I didn’t think about how long we’d be there or where it was, it was home. And when we moved again (as we regularly did), the new place was home. Our familiar furniture and books were there. We ate together in breakfast or dining room, the familiar food. My sister and I did our same chores.

When I was 13 we moved into the first house we bought. We lived there almost 10 years, longer than any place else I lived up to that point. It was at 5397 Oregon. Because it was where we lived the longest, memories of home often center on this house. When I was a senior in college we moved to a 2 family flat with my grandparents. By that time I was planning my escape out into the world and that flat always felt temporary. In 6 month I graduated and was gone.

home_is_where — Drawings and photographs of 4 of the 20 houses I’ve lived in.

During my early years on my own, the house I lived in wasn’t always “home”. In my early 20s, I moved 7 times in 3 years. Living in back rooms, attics, other people’s houses, temporary apartments, always waiting/watching for the next place to go.

It usually takes a certain amount of time for a place to feel like home to me. Some places feel more friendly than others. After a year it begins to feel permanent, even though none have been forever so far. Although we usually move everything, or most everything, with us, several times we have not been able to and then home feels bare until we can replace the missing things with different ones. I still wish I could go back and get some of them – the roll top desk, the dressers.

Family, both in the house and in the area, make a house feel like home. A dining table where the household sits and eats meals and plays games. Puzzles, plants, paper, pencils, tools and photographs are always there. Space to work on projects.

Here are some links to posts I wrote about all the places I lived and other important streets in my life. Index to streets in my life.

Index to Streets In My Life – 1946 – 2014

June 6, 2014Houses, memoriesKristin

Dates are approximate

A is for Atkinson – 1951 – 1953 Atkinson paternal grandparents home – 1949 – 1987

B is for Broadstreet, Detroit – 1969 ( Spring – fall)

C is for Calvert, Detroit – 1954 – 1958

Chicago Blvd, Detroit – 1953 – 1954

Cascade Rd. SW, Atlanta – 9/1972 – 9/1974

D is for Dexter, Detroit

E is for Elmhurst – 3/1969 – 11/1969

F is for Fairfield – summer 1968 – January 1969

G is for Grand River, Detroit – fall 1970 – spring 1973

Glendale, Detroit – Spring 1970 – Fall 1970

Hogarth & Linwood – Church

I is for Inglewood Court, St. Louis – Williams home

Idlewild Cottage – 1943 – 1992

J is for Joy Road, Detroit

K is for King St. Springfield, MASS – 8/1946 – fall/1948

L is for Linwood

Layfette – 1968

Lovett – Cleage Printers & Cleage Clinic

M is for Monterrey – early winter 1971 – early spring 1972

N is for North Martindale, Detroit – fall/1970 – early winter/1971

O is for Oregon Street, Detroit, MI – fall 1958 – summer 1968

Old Plank Road – 1960 – 1967

P is for South Payne Drive, Idlewild, MI – 1981 – 2004

Q is for Quiet Street – Watermill Lake – 2004 – 2007

R is for Route 1 Box 173 1/2 – 1976 – 1983

Rt 1 Box 38 – The Luba Project 1975 – 1976

S is for Sixth Avenue, Mt. Pleasant 1974 – 1975

Scotten, Detroit – Paternal grandparents 1919 – 1948

T is for Theodore St. Detroit – Maternal grandparents home 1922 – 1968

Third Avenue, Detroit – 1966

U is for Union Street – 1948 – 1951

V is for Venetian Drive – 2007 to present

W is for Wilkins Street – 1971 – 1972

X is for eXcelsior Springs, MO – 1983 – 1986

Y is for Yates Township – 1986 – 2003

Z is for Zamziwillie – endless

A Frog, A Doll And An Open Door – Summer 1956

June 5, 2014Biography, Newsletters, sepia saturday#ruff draftKristin

It was 1956 and my mother, sister, grandfather and I were on our way to a few weeks out of Detroit at my Uncle Louis’ cottage in Idlewild. Click all images to enlarge.