Little Robert Harry Darling’s
mother, Anna/Hanna, died in 1913. He was only five years old at the time.
Apparently, his father, a railroad man, was either too transient or too ill to
take care of Robert and his six-year-old sister, Elizabeth Grace Darling as the
two of them went to live with their grandmother, Margaret Mary (Lamb)
McAllister.
It appears that Margaret and
her husband Peter were estranged. She was living at 1142 Bellaire Ave.,
Brookline (Pittsburgh) and Peter was rooming at 2237 Salisberry Street. (Some
years later Peter would return to England alone.) Therefore, in April 1915, it
appears that Robert was living, along with his sister, with his grandmother in Brookline
(Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania.
The “unsinkable” Titanic had
sunk only a few years earlier and by the spring of 1915, the Great War (World
War I) was well underway with German wolf packs sinking English vessels. On May
7, German U-Boats sank the RMS Lusitania as she neared Liverpool coming from
New York.
City of New York renamed S.S. New York
Photo Courtesy: Wikipedia
We think there was a death in
the family, probably Margaret’s mother, Jane Lamb, had passed and that there
needed to be actions regarding the family business, an inn in the Appleby-in-Westmorland
area in Cambria, England. In any event, Margaret took the children to England
aboard the S.S. New York leaving New York City and arriving in Liverpool,
England on August 29, 1915.
Time in England had to have
been stressful for Margaret taking care of the estate. However, family stories
indicate that the time was good for the kids though, as they should be. Margaret
made sure they attended school and were “civilized” in English ways. Margaret
was Anglican, so they certainly would have attended Anglican Church while in
England. Possibly, even St. John’s Church in Workington, where Margaret and
Peter had been married many years before.
USS Yale – Renamed SS Philadelphia
Photo Courtesy: Wikipedia – See Alt Text for details
Margaret and the children
stayed in England for about sixteen months returning to the United States
sailing from Liverpool on December 15, 1916, aboard the S.S. Philadelphia, and
arriving at New York City on December 23, 1916.
Any hopes that Robert may
have had regarding being with his father would have been dashed when his
father, Rufus Harry Darling, died in June 1917.
[My first cousin, once removed, Sharon Marie (Larson) Huffman, recently passed away. Among her documents was one where she wrote of some of her memories regarding her grandparents, my great-grandparents Arthur Durwood and Mary Elizabeth (Manning) Brown. Many thanks to Tim and Julia for providing me a copy of Sharon’s memories and giving permission for me to present them here. I have done minimal editing of her writing.]
Grandpa Arthur and Grandma Mary Brown
My grandfather Arthur Brown was a young farmer in the hills of Sylvan Township, near Brainerd, Minnesota. He was born in 1868 and died in 1928. If I understand correctly, he was born in Lansing, Michigan. At the age of 21, he married Mary Elizabeth Manning. She was 14 years old. Together they had 12 children, two of which died in infancy.
Arthur Durrwood and
Mary Elizabeth (Manning) Brown
Grandpa died at the age of 60. Mom thinks that he had Cancer, but that they didn’t call it cancer in those days. She was only ten years old. We were never to know this grandfather.
Grandma Brown was born in Kentucky around 1876. Giving birth to 12 children back in those days left her with a lot of hard work. She was quite a woman. I have the most respect for her memory. I loved her so very much. This grandma became one of my very best friends.
My earliest memories of her are of her visiting us while we lived in Brainerd. But it was after we moved to Motley and I was a teenager that I truly came to appreciate her presence in my life.
Many times she would sit us down and tell us of her earlier years. She worked very hard to raise her family often. I don’t think it was easy. There were six boys, and four girls. She didn’t have modern conveniences and I’m sure there must have been tons of laundry, meals to cook, vegetables to raise, chickens to feed, and all kinds of other chores. Medical crisis were often handled by herself, as doctors were not as accessible as they are today. She told of her baby dying in her arms, scarlet fever among the children, and one son falling against the stove and injuring himself badly. Sons gone to war, coming home with Malaria, losing her wonderful husband at such a young age and her home to fire while she was with him as he was dying. She also told of bankers coming to try to foreclose on her land and people trying to take her children. She stood firm, shotgun in hand.
Grandma helped deliver babies back then and I think was present at the time of my birth in the house across the street from her own where my Aunt Nettie and Uncle Earl lived. This was in 1940.
Grandma had a little house of three rooms when I first remember going to her house. My Uncle Dick lived with her. He was still suffering the effects of Malaria and had a hard time getting around without a cane and sometimes two. She cared for him daily. She had a bedroom, kitchen, and living room. At one side of the living room was the bed and dresser for my uncle. They had no inside bathroom at that time and it was only a short time before I left Minnesota in 1973 that they had a toilet installed at one end of her bedroom. It was a crowded little house, and yet there was always room for company. It was also around that time that they changed the “pitcher” pump for a pressure pump. I don’t remember her ever having a hot water heater.
Grandma Brown & Uncle Dick Brown
Grandma and Uncle Dick raised a large vegetable garden every year. There wasn’t a weed in it. I’d see her out with the hand pushed cultivator cleaning the rows between the veggies. Most nights you could also hear the water being pumped through the garden hose to water the garden, after the pressure pump came into being. Then when harvest time would come she would can the vegetables, pickle most everything that could be pickled, and make jellies, relishes, chow chow, and also can fruits that they had picked and some they bought at the store. All of these things, plus potatoes, onions, squash, and melons, were stored in the little cellar under the kitchen. When he could, Uncle Dick would catch lots of fish, hunt deer, and raise chickens so they would have meat to add to their diet. My favorite Christmas gift from her would be a pint jar of wild plum butter.
Flowers were also a joy in her life. She would make little flowerbeds in the sand and coax many kinds of flowers into life. She took great pride in raising beautiful gladiolas, dahlias, pinks, pansies, and others. What a special day when you were presented with one of her prize flowers as a gift.
For many years, Grandma would bake her own bread. Her fingers were gnarled and sore from Arthritis, but she kneaded the bread dough anyway. I t was a great treat to have Grandma’s home made bread toasted with peanut butter on it. I t was only later in her life that I would encourage her to buy bread from the store so her hands wouldn’t hurt so badly.
Grandma always saw too it that we had something to eat if we went to her house. There were times when we came home from school at noon and there would be no lunch – No one home. We would go over to her house and she would fix us something and send us back to school. There were times when Mom would go to her for something to feed us kids. I regret the times when she would send something over in her canning jars, and we would not wash it but just put it out behind the house. Then she would have to come and get them and wash them up to save for next falls canning season.
Another thing my grandma did was make hand made quilts. She had a treadle sewing machine and did a lot of the stitching by hand. She made use of many old clothes. Instead of just throwing them away, she would put them in a quilt. I t was quite often that you would see a piece of your old dress in one of grandma’s quilts.
She would become upset when we would take them out in the yard and sun bathe. Not only because we were getting the quilts dirty, but that we were “half naked” in our bathing suits. How I wish I had one of them now. It would never be used outside on the grass. It is because of her being a Christian that I am today. She led us to Sunday school and taught us from the Bible. She not only talked being a Christian, but she lived what she talked. I have never met a person so trustworthy in my whole life. You could tell her something and it never went any further. She didn’t gossip at all. She would never take anything that didn’t belong to her either. When Mom lived in Mound, Minnesota, she would come to visit Grandma on the weekends. She would bring food to be used while there and occasionally there would be some left over. I t took a lot of talking for me to convince her that Mom wanted her to use up what was left over so it didn’t go to waste. She would say, “That belongs to your mother.”
The strength she had never ceased to amaze me. One time she had a headache and was laying on the couch. She took some liniment and was rubbing it on her forehead. Some ran down into her eye and started burning. Quietly she got up and went to the sink to wash it out. Never a peep out of her. We finally realized what had happened and helped her wash it out of her eye.
Not being able, as a young lady, to go to school she wasn’t well educated. She would send us to the store with her “shopping bag” and a “list” of things she needed. We would always chuckle as we tried to figure out what she needed. She wrote things as they sounded to her and that would sometimes be bred, mlk, egs, serel, and other staples. I n spite of not being educated she was a member of the Woman’s Relief Corp, the Assembly of God Church, and other organizations. She read her Bible as best she could, memorizing many verses and chapters.
Mary Brown
She truly loved each one of us kids. She became our source of comfort and security. She was always there for us. As I became older and would bring my own children to visit her, I acquired many memories. We would prepare a meal and then I would help her with the dishes. She would hold the dishpan in her lap and wash and I would dry and put away. The heat from the dishpan helped ease the pain in her legs and the hot water helped with her hands. After we would get everything put away, she and I would sit with a cup of tea and visit. How I loved those times of fellowship with her.
Grandma also loved my children very much. I t would tickle me when she would call my son Forrest so many different names trying to say it right. Sometimes he was Forrester, Foster, Foister, and then she might get it right. When he was just a baby, she thought he had fingers long enough to be a piano player some day. Tim, she called “the investigator.” She knew him quite well as he grew up loving to take things apart. Renee, her “pretty little girl” and Todd was the baby.
We never went to Grandma’s that she didn’t want us to spend the night. She said she would make a bed on the floor for us. She didn’t want us to go home in the dark. That is one of the reasons that when my Uncle Dick said that we were coming too often, that it was too hard on grandma that it broke my heart. I don’t think she would have been happy knowing he had told me that. She loved having us come.
It was a sad day when we moved from Minnesota to Idaho and I had to say goodbye to my dear grandmother. I was visiting her and telling her how afraid I was to fly. I just knew that I would die in a plane crash. She reassured me, telling me I was going to be just fine She hugged me and told me she loved me, and that God did too and He would look out for me. I left her with a longing and sadness in my heart over leaving her behind. Years passed and we had moved to Alaska. She had moved from her little home to a nursing home. When I was able to come back to see her I was so excited. I couldn’t wait to see her again and feel her love. I t was not to be. My sister, Barbie, and I went to the nursing home and Barbie said to her, you remember Shari don’t you grandma? She said yes, and turned away from me, talking about Barbie picking a bouquet of flowers out of her Poinsettia plant. She was in another dimension. She didn’t know me anymore. It broke my heart.
I wasn’t able to come back for her funeral. She died on Mother’s Day in 1983. Gone to be with her heavenly father. The one she had served all of her life. Our loss was Heaven’s gain and I’m sure the angels welcomed her with open arms for she truly was one of them.
Mary Elizabeth and Arthur Durwood Brown
Children born to them were:
Clyde
Clarence
Richard
Arthur
Edward
Charles
Victoria
Cora
Delores
Nettie Mae
This week I did more background research regarding Donna’s career with the “Chin Chin” production. I still haven’t determined dates or venue for their Minneapolis showing (other than late January to early February, 1920). I did, however, find where the production played at the Lyceum Theater in Rochester, NY sometime during the week of March 5th.[i] More about that in a future article.
Other than some basic advertising in “The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette” (Fort Wayne, Indiana), I was unable to find any articles heralding the show. Although it had to be a busy Sunday. They played in Madison, Wisconsin on the 14th, both a matinee and an evening show then made it to Fort Wayne for an show the next evening. It is about 300 miles between Madison and Fort Wayne so it had to have been a late night packing, loading, sleeping on the train, then setting up for the show the next day.
Majestic Theatre, Fort Wayne, IN
It is not really clear if the
Majestic Theatre in Fort Wayne was a new construction or if it had been rebuilt[ii] when it opened at 216 E. Berry St., on October 24, 1904. [iii] The 1894
Donaldson Guide, (page 105) regarding Fort Wayne theaters only indicates
the Masonic Temple and the Broadway Theatre as venues, which suggests that it
was probably a new construction. The
theatre was noted
for its great acoustics.[iv]
The 1913-1914 Julius Cahn – Gus Hill Theatrical Guide, Page 188 indicates that
the theatre was quite large, seating 1372 people and that the stage was large
as well, 44×38 feet, with six stage pockets. The theatre was managed by Milton
E. Rice.[v] The 1922 Supplement indicated that the
manager was Orrin Stair,[vi] so management changed
sometime between those dates.
The 1918 Fort Wayne City Directory, indicates that Philip E Thompson
was the Stage Manager, Herman Selman was the advertising agent. Neither M Rice
nor Orrin Stair show up in that directory.[vii]
Sometime between 1910
and the 1920s the Majestic underwent a facelift which replaced a plain front with
an classy arched entrance as photos of the earlier theater and later were quite
different.
The production “Chin Chin” played at the Majestic on February 15th, 1920.
The Department of the Indiana Grand Army of the Republic held their business sessions for its forty-seventh Annual Encampment at the Majestic on May 17, 18, 19, and 20, 1926.[viii]
In 1928, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic reorganized with Emil Bouillet as conductor and began to play at several venues including the Majestic Theatre. Interestingly enough, the musicians were required to sell tickets for the concerts and banners were streatched across Calhoun street to advertise those concerts.[ix]
About 1941 the Majestic Theatre was renamed the Civic Theater, and it continued as a movie theater until at least 1950.[x]
In 1954, the Majestic Theatre was deemed unsafe for children by the fire department and so the Children’s Theatre spent the next 10 years at various locations in the city. [xi]
The Majestic was torn down in 1957, and the location is now the site of the Citizen Square parking lot. (Courtesy of Gene Branning) [xii]
Further Research
The Cahn-Leighton
Theatrical Guide indicates there are several other newspapers in Fort Wayne at
the time. Although the “Journal Gazette” was the largest of the papers in town,
the “News” and the “Sentinel” were also substantial and should be investigated
for possible news items regarding the show.
[viii] Proceedings of
Forty-third Annual Encampment of the Department of Indiana, Grand Army of the
Republic. Dept. of Indiana. Volume XLIII – Page 84 – See: https://tinyurl.com/lflcntl
[ix] Web: The Phil –
Fort Wayne Philharmonic | The History of the Phil. See:
I was doing some research for a genetic cousin attempting to find a common ancestor. My goal was to determine Mary Dowd’s mother’s surname. It was frustrating because it kept appearing like her husband, Michael Angley, was married several times to multiple wives all named Mary. It took quite a bit of research to prove to myself that Michael was only married once and that his “wives,” Mame Doud, Mamie Doude, and Mary Dabb, were the same person. The birth date changed from record to record, something that I’ve come to accept, but her birthplace changed several times and even her parents’ birthplaces changed occasionally. That is problematic and I thought, for sure, there were two different people. I thought the key was in the family relationships and following all of the children, the results of which I found frustrating as well. I knew I had to chart her places of birth to understand the picture of what was going on.
When I started, I knew very little about Mary Dowd. She was born about 1874 in Pennsylvania. She was married to Michael Angley who was born about 1870 in Connecticut. They had a child Charles, born March 4, 1896 in Pringle, Luzerne, Pennsylvania, and the family was living in Pringle in 1910.
First, I looked closely at the census records. I found the family in the 1910, 1920, and 1930 censuses. Then I got concerned. The 1910 Census indicated Mary was born in PA, but the 1920 and 1930 Censuses indicated she was born in New Jersey[1][2]. Oh my. My initial thought was that there were two Mary Angleys – One born in PA and the other in NJ. I then found their marriage registration entry and became even more confused. It said her name was Mame Doud, her birthday was the same as her husband’s, 21 Feb 1873, and both were born in New Jersey and they were married 24 Apr 1895.
I thought, maybe if I follow the children I’d see there were actually two mothers.
Following the Census records I found there were 12 children. Two died young (before the 1910 Census). That left 10 children to follow and I thought their Marriage records would be a great help. Family Search is excellent for that. Because I knew the family lived in Luzerne County, PA for many years, I searched Luzerne County for any marriages involving Angley. I found the following
The 1910 Census indicates that Michael and Mary had been
married for 15 years. That would
indicate that all the children through Alberta would have Mary’s. The mile
distance between Edwardsville and Pringle is easy to explain. However, I don’t
understand why several of her children thought that she was born in New Jersey
or Philadelphia, which are over a hundred miles away. It must have been one of them who answered
the census taker’s questions in 1920 and 1930.
Finding her death certificate was fantastic. I now knew her father’s name and was able to differentiate him from several other Dowd’s in the county with children named Mary.
Finally, the death certificate provided the reason for my research on Mary Dowd Angley. Her mother’s name, Mary Quinn.
Bio – Mary Dowd Angley (1873-1940)
Mary Dowd, was born 24 Feb 1873 in Edwardsville, PA to
Edward and Mary Quinn Dowd.
We know she had at least two sisters, Anna and
Margaret. Further research is needed to
determine other siblings.
She married Michael Angley on 23 April 1895.
The 1910 Census indicates that Mary had 8 children, 6 of
whom were living[10]. The
1920 Census added four more children that we know of. Her children included:
Charles 1896
Esther 1899
Margaret 1902
Mary/Mame 1905
James 1906
Ellen 1907
Unknown Died before 15 Apr 1910.
Unknown Died
before 15 Apr 1910
Raymond 1911
Eugene 1913
Alberta 1915
Michael 1918
In July of 1915 Mary’s sister Margaret visited[11].
In Jun of 1919 she underwent an operation at Nesbitt West
Side Hospital[12].
She lived at 498 Pringle Street from at least 1910 until her
death in 1940. The home appears to still
be standing. Trulia
estimates the home to be a 1388 square feet two story home. Google Maps shows it as:
She died 4 January 1940 of Arteritis & Diabetes mellitus
and is buried at St. Ignatius Catholic Church Cemetery in Pringle, PA.[13]
Further Actions:
Further research is needed to determine Mary Dowd’s other siblings.
List of Greats
1. Mary Dowd
2. Edward Dowd
Endnotes [1] 1920
United States Federal Census , Ancestry.com , 1920; Census Place: Pringle,
Luzerne, Pennsylvania; Roll: T625_1595; Page: 4B; Enumeration District:191;
Image: 1026 – 498 Pringle Street.
https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1920usfedcen&indiv=try&h=67338993.
[2] 1930
United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com , 1930; Census Place: Pringle,
Luzerne, Pennsylvania; Roll: 2070; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 0195; Image:
513.0; FHL microfilm: 2341804.
https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1930usfedcen&indiv=try&h=53033836.
[3] “Pennsylvania,
County Marriages, 1885-1950,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KHF2-3F6
: accessed 31 March 2015), Charles Angley and Sarah Jones, 24 Apr 1916; citing
Marriage, Pennsylvania, county courthouses, Pennsylvania; FHL microfilm
2,260,855.
[6] Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950,
Family Search, James Angley and Margaret Brennan #17797 – [Accessed 27 March
2015] GS Film Number: 2224488 , Digital Folder Number: 004833134 , Image
Number: 00314. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KHXB-91L.
[9] “Pennsylvania,
County Marriages, 1885-1950,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KHF7-HTT
: accessed 31 March 2015), Henry T Kelley and Alberta Anita Angley, 01 Mar
1938; citing Marriage, Pennsylvania, county courthouses, Pennsylvania; FHL
microfilm 2,224,706.
I’ll admit it. I grew up with television. Every morning it was TV time. During the summer, and other times when there
wasn’t school, it was TV for lunch (“Lunch with Casey” comes to mind), too. And, of course, after school was filled
with more kid programs. It was the golden age
of television and kid programs of early 1960s were wonderful.
House at 8316 Monroe still stands (Modern Picture)
Photo by Don Taylor
Probably my fondest memories of television were when we
lived in Spring Lake Park (A suburb of Minneapolis), Minnesota. It was a tiny little one-bedroom house, about
780 square feet. I didn’t have a bedroom;
rather, my bedroom was the “breezeway” between the house and the garage. In the
summer, it was glorious, but in the winter, the unheated room, without
insulation, which had louvered windows was a bit chilly. So, when I’d get up in
the morning it was quick into the main part of the house to warm up.
I was 11 or 12 years old – fifth and sixth grades – when we
lived there. I was an early riser. Most
of the year, I’d have cold cereal, but in the winter my grandmother (Donna)
would make hot Purina or Cream of Wheat for me. Thinking about, it we were
pretty much a Ralston Purina household.
We ate Chex, for the most part, when it wasn’t hot cereal. However,
mostly morning was getting ready for school, watching cartoons, and playing poker.
I was usually up by 6:30AM when “Siegfried and his Flying
Saucer” came on WCCO. Siegfried wasn’t really a cartoon; he was a drawing that
was put on screen. No animation, just a
drawing. My memory is a bit fuzzy about if he even had a voice but his drawing
was better than the test pattern that was there before the show began. On Siegfried’s
there was also “Wallace the Weather Bear.” Wallace was also nothing but a
drawing on the screen, but he provided the expected high and low temperatures
for the day. I think there were rain and
snow stickers they added to the drawing of Wallace when appropriate.
At 7AM came “Clancy the Cop.” John Gallos was the host of the show and was just a nice guy. I recall he was originally a Keystone Cop but metamorphed into “Clancy the Space Cop” and got a more up-to-date uniform. Fitting for the show that followed Siegfried. In those days, cops were nice and were there to help people much more than to “protect” as they do now-a-days. Anyway, he had help on the show from a nurse, Carmen the Nurse.
This early morning time was when my grandmother, Donna,
taught me poker. We had a couple jars of
pennies, one for her and one for me and played penny poker every morning. She taught me five-card stud, seven-card
stud, and five-card draw. I think five’
stud was our favorite game. Years later
I was talking with my mother about my learning poker from “Grams” and she didn’t
recall it. Maybe we didn’t begin until
after she left for work. I don’t think
it was a secret, I think that it was just the way the morning were and poker
didn’t occur until I was ready to catch the bus to school.
School was a five-mile bus ride to the Twin Cities Army Ammunition
Plant (TCAAP), also known as the Twin Cities Arsenal. Spring Lake Park didn’t have enough schools to
support the ballooning boomer generation. Rather than building new schools,
they rented some facilities and the Arsenal was one such place. It was an odd place, even for its time. I’m sure they couldn’t use such a place today
as, I recall, it still had bars on many of the windows left over from its World
War II factory days. Interestingly enough, I returned twenty-some years later
when I got a government job with the Defense Contract Administration Services
(DCAS) and inspected the Area Denial Anti-personnel Mine (ADAM) bomblets made
there. Occasionally, I needed to go to
another building at the facility which was same building I went to for
elementary school twenty years earlier. They had taken the bars off the windows
by then.
Life in Spring Lake Park was great. Kid shows morning, noon,
and evening. Axel and his Dog broadcasting from his “tree house” on “Magic
Island” was the highlight of the afternoon. I think my sense of humor from his
closing poems which, continuing in the Robert Louis Stevenson tradition, always
began with:
“Birdie with a yellow bill, hopped upon my window sill,
cocked a shining eye and said:”
and finished with Axle’s punny endings such as:
“What is that in the road – A Head?”
“What did you do in Saint Louis – Park?
“What did you do with the light bulb, socket?
It was a memorable time with many pleasant memories. Nevertheless, I think the fondest
recollection I have of the Spring Lake Park years was learning poker from “Grams.”
