Mystery Monday: Who was Grandma Alice?

Last October, my mom and I spent several hours scanning old family photos. I was home visiting as I do every year and since I started getting in to our family history over the summer, my mom agreed to indulge me. While looking at pictures from the early 80s, we came across this photo from my mom's baby shower:

I recognized my mom, her mother, and of course my Great Grandmom, but I didn't know who the woman to my mom's left was. She wasn't sure either. After thinking about if for a while, she finally came up with a name: Grandma Alice.

Apparently this woman was called Grandma Alice by my biological father and his siblings. However, she wasn't someone I had discovered on the family tree yet. My paternal grandmother's mother was Sadie Davis. My paternal grandfather's mother was Myrtle Park. She also wasn't one of my father's great grandmothers.

My mom suggested that perhaps this was a second wife of my father's grandfather, Charles McConnell. Good theory. I checked Ancestry.com for any marriage records for Charles, and came up empty. The Delaware County Archives has searchable indexes to several records collections, including marriage records up to 1940, but I didn't find a record for Charles McConnell there either. Charles was born in 1900¹, so I would think he would have married before 1940, but it's always possible he found a wife later.

While looking for definitive death information for Charles, I came across an entry in the SSDI which seems probable. This entry put his death in 1980². Using that date, I searched Find a Grave and came up with this memorial, located in Chester Rural Cemetery:

Photo by: Bill Bloom

If this is in fact the right Charles, this would be confirmation that Alice was his wife. I have no idea who Joseph McAldon was. A search through the Delaware County Newspaper Archives gave me a story about his death³, but no information that really connected him to Charles. I thought perhaps Alice was a McAldon, but I haven't found any connection there either. I did find an article about Helen, Charles's sister's, wedding. Joseph McAldon was in attendance⁴. Perhaps he was a close friend to their family. Or a cousin. More digging will hopefully illuminate it.

For now, the working hypothesis is that 'Grandma Alice' was my grandfather William's stepmother. We will have to see if further sleuthing proves or disproves that.
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¹1900 U.S. census, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Chester City, 3rd Ward, enumeration district (ED) 147, sheet 13A, dwelling 224, family 252, John Keenan household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http:www.ancestry.com); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm 1241404 roll 1404.
²"United States Social Security Death Index," index, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 Feb 2013), Charles McConnell, Dec 1980; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
³"Joseph McAldon," Chester Times, 21 Apr 1947, p. 2.
⁴"Melody-McConnell," Chester Times, 28 Oct 1935, p. 8.

Travel Tuesday: A Trip for Good Health

When I first received my paternal grandfather's birth certificate, I was a bit disappointed that it didn't seem to point me in any new directions. The only new information it provided me were the ages of his parents at the time of his birth. This information has actually proven to be quite valuable. I wrote about some of the more unsavory information I discovered on my great grandfather. Fortunately, my great grandmother does have some appearances in the paper that are not for arrests!

Myrtle Park was born 12/16/1906, to parents Fredrick Park and Fannie (Nethery) Park¹. Her mother's maiden name helped me pinpoint the family further, as Myrtle had a younger brother named Nethery (Ned). As soon as I found the basic info on the family, I headed for one of my favorite resources, the Delco Newspaper Archives, and started plugging in some names. As usual, the Chester Times has not let me down.

May 29, 1913²

On May 28, 1913, Mrs. Fannie Park left Chester with her oldest daughter, Myrtle. The pair were bound for Colorado, planning to stay several months with family who owned a ranch near Denver. The article mentions Mrs. Park's poor health, and states that the trip is planned in hopes of improving her health². Although cars were being mass produced by this time, many women of the era did not learn how to drive. It's likely that the mother and daughter traveled by passenger train.

June 16, 1913³

Unfortunately, the trip did not do much to improve Fannie's health. Just a little over two weeks later, on June 16, 1913, the Chester Times reported that Fannie's husband Fred, had been informed of her passing³. I'm sure this 'woman of genial disposition' was greatly mourned, but my first thought when reading this was for her daughter. Myrtle was just six years old at the time of her mother's passing. Left with an aunt and uncle she'd probably never met before, so far from her own family, how did she cope? I wonder how Myrtle made it back to Pennsylvania. Perhaps her aunt was able to accompany her. Her father could also have gone to retrieve her, as his own mother was still alive and well, and she could have stayed with the family's other children. In either case, how terrible it must have been for her.

On a brighter note, did you know that there are official rail guides that you can check out, if you want to map the exact route your ancestors may have taken? I spent a little time looking at the 1910 guide. Very cool.
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¹Myrtle Park, Birth Registration 139176 (16 Dec 1906); “Pennsylvania Birth Index, 1906,” digital image, Pennsylvania Department of Health (http://www.health.state.pa.us/indices/1906%20Birth.htm : accessed 03 Feb 2013).
²"Personal Mention," Chester Times, 29 May 1913, p. 8.
³"Died In The West," Chester Times, 16 Jun 1913, p. 1.

Finding unpleasant information about your ancestors

A while back, while digging around the Delaware County (PA) Online Newspaper Archive, I did a quick search for Charles McConnell. That was the name I had been given for my great grandfather, although I wasn't sure it was accurate until just recently.  I found a disturbing article about a crime committed by this man. At the time, I saved the article for future reference, unsure if this was my relative or not.

Now, I feel quite certain the man referenced in the article was in fact my great grandfather. In addition to some arrests for causing a disturbance while intoxicated, I found this article:

08/03/1937

There are lot of things that would disappoint me if I learned my ancestors had done them. Things like abandoning one's children, adultery, having one's wife committed, etc. But learning you've got a rapist (or attempted rapist in this case), in the family tree is the most disturbing thing I've found, especially since he was attacking children¹. I can't imagine anything I find later being much worse than this one.

Fortunately, this man was my paternal grandfather's father. I am not in contact with any living decedents from this family, so I don't have to worry about bringing up an bad memories for relatives, or having anyone feel that I am disgracing his name by discovering this. If this were on my mother's side, I would have to tread more carefully with whom I could tell.

In case anyone should think I am assuming Charles's guilt without properly researching it, I found a follow up article. On 08/06/1937, the paper reported that Charles McConnell was sentenced to 30 days in jail after complaints from several neighborhood parents that he had approached their young daughters². Evidence that he approached them for "immoral purposes" was lacking, so that is why he got a short sentence. Lest you still think this guy is just getting a bad rap, he was again arrested, on 09/04/1937, a mere two days after he was released from jail. He was again charged with enticing minors³.

Unfortunately, the age given in the articles fits for my ancestor, Charles McConnell. The article discloses his residence as being in the 300 block of Upland Street. Other articles I found specify his address as 307 Upland Street. Charles's son, William, was born July 28, 1925 in Chester⁴. I found an article about William's 12th birthday party, dated 07/30/1937, which gives his address as 307 Upland Street⁵. This makes me fairly certain I'm dealing with the right family.

I am a little nervous about what else I will find on this guy now.
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¹ "Man Suspected of Enticing Tots," Chester Times, 03 Aug 1937, p. 2.
²"Today's Police Court Hearings," Chester Times, 06 Aug 1937, p. 16.
³"Mayor Sits as Police Judge," Chester Times, 06 Sep 1937, p. 2.
⁴Pennsylvania Department of Health, Vital Records, birth certificate 115688-1925 (1925), William Norris McConnell.
⁵"Gossip about People You Know," Chester Times, 30 Jul 1937, p. 8.

Matrilineal Monday: Sadie Davis

I recently began digging in to the Delaware County (PA) digital archives and combing the old newspapers for mentions of my DelCo relatives. Of particular interest to me was my great grandmother, Sadie Davis. Sadie was born in 1894, in Upland, PA¹. She died in 1964 (a good 20 years before my birth!)², and her daughter, my grandmother, has also passed. Piecing together this side of my family has been challenging. I lack the personal information I have on my mother's family. It's hard to imagine these people and what their lives were like.

Fortunately, it seems news was slim in Chester back at the turn of the century (19th to 20th, that is). I found multiple mentions of Sadie in the Chester Times. Here are a few of them:

May 5, 1903: Hand Injury³

May 23, 1903: Ninth birthday Party⁴

May 4, 1937: '30 Years Ago'⁵

I also found Sadie in The Delaware County Daily Times.

April 16, 1962: Helping with local historic discovery⁶

There are several others. It was so interesting being able to read about her in the news. They're small tidbits, but together they give me a rough sketch. She seems interesting. She was an active member of her community. She was intelligent. What a wonderful discovery to make.
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¹Chester Birth Records 1889-1906, Archives, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, online , Davis data downloaded 20 November 2012.
²"Winnberg [obituary]," Delaware County Daily Times, 17 Feb 1964, p. 4.
³"Hand Lacerated," Chester Times, 5 May 1903, p. 2.
⁴"Young Girl's Birthday," Chester Times, 23 May 1903, p. 11.
⁵"Thirty Years Ago," Chester Times, 4 May 1937, p. 6.
⁶"Caleb Pusey House Day Observed," Delaware County Daily Times, 16 Apr 1962, p. 2.

Thriller Thursday: Always an Accomplice, Never a Bandit

Until recently, I had thought the only scoundrels in my family tree were the growing number of alcoholics. Enter George O. Shaffer. George Shaffer was my grandmother's brother. I never knew him, but my mother did. She told me he was 'a funny old bird' and my grandmother Sarah fretted over him often. He never married, he appeared and disappeared at random, and he sometimes drove a cab.

While browsing the digital archives for Delaware County, PA, and searching for newspaper mentions of my relatives, I did a search for George. At first I was skeptical about what I found, then, the evidence mounted.

Uncle George Shaffer was a convicted accomplice to Cliff Redden, known as the 'Flash Bandit' in the mid 1940s¹. Together with Flash and another accomplice, George participated in at least seven armed robberies and three car thefts. He was sentenced to 50-100 years of hard labor and solitary confinement at Eastern State Penitentiary².

Eastern State closed its doors in 1971, but evidence suggests he was already released by this time. George's mother, Sadie, passed away in 1964, and her obituary indicates that her son George was residing in Folcroft, PA³. I am working on obtaining the records of his incarceration to pin down the exact dates.

While some might say an armed robber deserves 50-100 years in prison, at least one person disagreed. John Parmer Gates, minister of the Upland Baptist Church, wrote an impassioned letter to the editor of the Chester Times⁴. George Shaffer, he wrote, "was hit by an automobile, which injured his right frontal lobe. He still bears a large scar which runs from above the forehead to the cheek. In the Army, while stationed in England and while in transit to the United States he was confined to a psychopathic ward. He was given an honorable discharge with a bill of poor health." All facts which the minister believed should have been considered at sentencing.
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¹"Young Bandits Admit Staging Three Holdups," Chester Times, 2 Feb 1946, p. 1.
²'"'Flash's' Pals Get 50 Years for Robberies," Chester Times, 25 Mar 1946, p. 1.
³"Winnberg [obituary]," Delaware County Daily Times, 17 Feb 1964, p. 4.
⁴"Upland Pastor Writes [Letter to the Times editor]," Chester Times, 28 Mar 1946, p. 6.