Monday Is for Mothers: Grenfell

I think this photo of Bernice Evangeline Grenfell Currey was taken about 1944 around the time her son went off to war.

[From my personal collection]

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday Drive: Currey

Because sometimes the Sunday drive is in a boat...the Curreys boat (left) next to their friend Herb's in San Diego harbor in the winter of 1931, perhaps at the Southwestern Yacht Club which they belonged to at the time.*

[Photos from my personal collection]

A year earlier, Harold had been named as Port Captain for the yacht club.

[Sunday, December 7, 1930   Paper: San Diego Union (San Diego, California)   Page: 21  

This entire product and/or portions thereof are copyrighted by NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004.

Source: GenealogyBank.com]

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Revisited: William Heath and Anne Gale get married in 1634

As you can see from the two facing pages of marriage allegations (including that of William Heath, possibly my paternal ninth great grandfather, on the top left), each entry was made by a different man, none of whose writing is particularly legible to modern eyes.

[Ancestry.com. London and Surrey, England, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1597-1921 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Marriage Bonds and Allegations. London, England: London Metropolitan Archives. Surrey Marriage Bonds and Allegations records held by the London Metropolitan Archives, London, England.]

However in my experience, studying an enlarged version of the relevant text together with a sample of 17th century letter forms for comparison can be very helpful.

[Ancestry.com. London and Surrey, England, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1597-1921 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Marriage Bonds and Allegations. London, England: London Metropolitan Archives. Surrey Marriage Bonds and Allegations records held by the London Metropolitan Archives, London, England.]

[Martin Billingsley, The Pens Excellencie or the Secretaries Delighte (1618). Source: English Handwriting 1500-1700, an online course]

And here's how I read the two lines extracted above:

...that William Heath of St Andrews in Eastcheap haberdasher and a bachelor aged...  

Now to check my work. Is it credible?

Eastcheap* (cheap coming from the Old English word for market) has been a street in the City of London since at least medieval times. The churches commonly associated with it are St. Leonard Eastcheap and St. Clement Eastcheap which was worrying, but through further research I learned that there used to be a St. Andrews in Eastcheap that wasn't rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1666.** On the 1653 London map below, Eastcheap is numbered "12" on the legend.***

[A map of London, designed to help country men to find their way around the city, 1653. British Library]

[London from Southwark. Oil on wood. Artist-Dutch School, 17th century (1626 AD - 1655 AD0 Museum of London]

To be named as a "haberdasher" in an official document during this period, a man had to be a member of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers**** so that's where I looked next and I found a William Heath in the 1633 Register of Freedom Admissions in the Haberdashery Company's records.

[findmypast.co.uk © Images reproduced by courtesy of The Haberdashers’ Company, London, England]

Edward Compton was the Master under whom William served his apprenticeship of seven years during which time he would have lived in Compton's house. He was subject to strict rules while learning his trade and wouldn't have been allowed to marry until after he was accepted into the Company as a Freeman.

[Haberdashers Shop 17th Century with Shopkeeper, Customer & Chapman. findmypast.com Newsletter May 2015]

As a haberdasher what would have been in William's shop?

"The origin of the word “haberdasher” is unclear although it is generally considered to be taken from the Anglo-Norman word ‘haberdache’, sometimes rendered as ‘hapertas’, which means ‘small goods’. A haberdashery was a shop that would sell accessory items such as hats, scarves, gloves, shawls, parasols, needles, buttons and thread."

Why did William Heath bring Solomon Valman(?) of Fenchurch to the office of the Lord Bishop of London to vouch for him in the allegation? Since he and Anne were planning to be married by license and not publicly announced banns, an allegation was required that there was no impediment to the marriage, including consanguinity.

[Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, Volume 2, by John McClintock, James Strong;  Harper, 1868.

Source: Google Books]

[St Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney Parish (Tower Hamlets, Middlesex, England), marriages, 1631-1686, William Heath and Anny Hale, 2 July 1634; Church of England Parish Registers, 1538-1812. London, England: London Metropolitan Archives; digital images, London, England, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 database on Ancestry.com(http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1624 : accessed 15 Aug 2015).]

All of this means that I'm confident about the circumstances of the William Heath who married Anne Hale (or Gale) in 1634. What I'm not so sure of is whether he's the same man who emigrated to Virginia sometime around 1650.

Unfortunately for William Heath (if this is the right person), the rise of puritanism in the 17th century led to hard times for haberdashers as fashions became plainer and less ornamented. Perhaps that's why he chose to emigrate to Virginia in the early years of the Commonwealth.


*Now in the Eastcheap Conservation Area (PDF).
**Also known as St. Andrew Hubbard, it was joined with St Mary at Hill during the rebuilding after the Great Fire. Fortunately the church records survived the fire.
***Note that the coat  of arms of the Haberdashers is the second one from the top of the left side of the map.
****The second in order of precedence of The Twelve Great Livery Companies of London.


© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

William Heath and Anne Gale get married in 1634

Seriously??  This handwriting is killing me right now.  The William Heath on this marriage allegation looks more like William Loath or Loak, but okay.  Diocese of London, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1597-1921, unnumbered, William Heath and Anne Hale, 28 Jun[?] 1634; digital images,  Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2056 : accessed 15 Aug 2015); citing Marriage Bonds and Allegations. London, England: London Metropolitan Archives.

My 10th great grandparents, William Heath and Anne Hale, were married in 1634 in London.  They later immigrated to Virginia in 1650.

I worked out the following:

"28th Juny [July?] [1634]
This day appeared personally Solomon Larmon?/Valmon? of the parish of St ???? gentleman and allegeth that William Heath of St. A???? in ???? labor???? and a bachelor aged about 23 years intendeth to marry with Anne Hale?Gale? of St Martins Lane? London maiden aged about 23 years.  And assent ???? there is no lawfull let or impediment by...[unreadable boiler plate]...for whom to be married in the parish church of St Stepney....."

Oh my, well I tried.  I wish I could work out what he did.  In essence, I believe this record was a marriage allegation for William and Anne who belonged to different parishes and wanted to get married.  More info about the record from Ancestry:

From Ancestry's London and Surrey, England, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1597-1921.

This marriage record is slightly more readable:

St Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney Parish (Tower Hamlets, Middlesex, England), marriages, 1631-1686, William Heath and Anny Hale, 2 July 1634; Church of England Parish Registers, 1538-1812. London, England: London Metropolitan Archives; digital images, London, England, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 database on Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1624 : accessed 15 Aug 2015).

So from this it looks like William belonged to St Andrews and Anne belonged to St Martins of the field.


I have no images of William Heath or Anne Hale of course, but you can still go to St Dunstan's Stepney.  They have a website:

St Dunstan's Stepney has been a place of prayer and witness at the heart of the community for over a thousand years. It is the oldest and mother church of London's East End, dating from the 10th Century.

They've even put up a number of images, historic and recent, of the church, which is basically in the same building since the 1500's:

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: Slater/Tomlinson

Fortunately someone labeled the people in this photograph, who are (left to right) my grand uncle Pete Slater, Edith and Orvel "Orv" Manker,* my grandfather Harry Slater, my mother Alta Mae Slater, and first cousin, twice removed, John "Jack" Ashley Tomlinson and his father, my great grand uncle Arthur David "Art" Tomlinson.** 

I don't know anything about the dog but it's very cute.

[Courtesy of Olive Kennedy]

If you look closely, there's another child seated on the boulder between Edith and Harry (and mostly hidden by Orv) who didn't get identified. The Mankers never had any children and Harry is holding his hand so I'm wondering if he's my uncle James Robert "Jim" Slater who was born in 1919, two years after my mother, which would make the date of this photo about 1921.

*The Mankers also lived in Niwot and in the 1920 U.S. Census Orv's occupation was listed as "Laborer" in the Cement business which would have been his connection to the Slater Brothers.
**Harry's mother Rufina Ellen Tomlinson's half-brother.


© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Jasper R Nosler: Working on the Railroad

P&SR railway line crew in February, 1937 at work on the tracks. The six workers are L-R: Jess Behere, Jim Phillips, Joe Miller, Jasper Nosler, Everett Doughty and Ron Garloff.  

I was fooling around with search terms in National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC) and found my 3rd cousin 1x removed Jasper R Nosler (1911-2003) posing with fellow Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway crew members.  You never know what you will find in these collections.

The cataloging metadata had some cool features, including geocoding for the location (in this case for Joe Rodota Trail, where they apparently were).

I guess they figured the group shot was over.  L-R background Joe Miller, Jess Behere, foreground in overalls- E. Yeager, Ron Garloff, Jim Phillips and Jasper Nosler behind pole.

Pictured L-R: Joe Miller, Ron Garloff, Jasper Nosler, Jim Phillips and E. Yeager.  

Not much has changed in that stretch of railway, as this Google Earth snapshot shows:

Now called the Joe Rodota Trail in Sebastopol, California, it is a bike path.

Sebastopol California Social Media Community Videos made a short video about the trail/path:

I always have to compare where these places are relative to me:

Sebastopol location, from Google Earth Pro.

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Gone for Soldiers: George Logan "Pete" Slater (1886 - 1957), Marine Corps, Continued

Following up on my previous post about my grand uncle: After short postings to the Marine Barracks at the Naval Station in Key West, Florida, and at the Naval Ammunition Depot on Iona Island, New York,* in November of 1918 Pete was sent to Fort Crockett in Galveston, Texas, and promoted to Corporal. 

[Ft. Crockett, Galveston, Tex., 1918, Camp site, Coast Artillery Corps and U.S. Marine Corps | Library of Congress]

Corporal Slater was transferred to the Headquarters, Overseas Depot in Quantico, Virginia, in July, 1918, after eight months in Texas. The following month he was attached to Company "D" Fourth Separate Battalion U S M C, Brest, France. The troops left Quantico on Friday, September 13, 1918, and on September 15, 1918, sailed from Hoboken, N. J., on board the HENDERSON** and VON STEUBEN, arriving at France on September 25, 1918.*** 

[Ancestry.com. U.S. Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1798-1958 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: Muster Rolls of the U.S. Marine Corps, 1798-1892. Microfilm Publication T1118, 123 rolls. ARC ID: 922159. Records of the U.S. Marine Corps, Record Group 127; National Archives in Washington, D.C.]

[U.S.S. Henderson, 22 April 1918, U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Source: ibiblio.org]

While in France, Pete served with several companies of the Third Battalion, Fifth Marines during his tour of duty, beginning in Companies "G" and "L" and he was promoted to Sergeant while in Company "K" in December 1918.

[Ancestry.com. U.S. Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1798-1958 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: Muster Rolls of the U.S. Marine Corps, 1798-1892. Microfilm Publication T1118, 123 rolls. ARC ID: 922159. Records of the U.S. Marine Corps, Record Group 127; National Archives in Washington, D.C.]

Although the recruiting posters continued to glorify war, the reality was quite different.

[First in France--U.S. Marines / John A. Coughlin. 1917, Library of Congress]

["Scott Belleau Wood". Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scott_Belleau_Wood.jpg#/media/File:Scott_Belleau_Wood.jpg]

It isn't clear to me what actual battlefield experience Pete endured during the nearly ten months he was in France. But he arrived just as the Meuse-Argonne Offensive began which was the largest operation the American Expeditionary Forces undertook during World War I and since it continued until the Armistice on November 11, 1918, it's unlikely that he wasn't one of the 1.2 million American soldiers and Marines who took part in it.

["All their Weary Marches Done, All their Battles Fought and Won" American Dead in the Meuse-Argonne. Stereo copyrighted by the Keystone View Co. Library of Congress]

In August 1919, Sergeant George L. Slater was transferred back to Quantico, Virginia, attached to the 5th Reserve Casual Company.

[Ancestry.com. U.S. Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1798-1958 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: Muster Rolls of the U.S. Marine Corps, 1798-1892. Microfilm Publication T1118, 123 rolls. ARC ID: 922159. Records of the U.S. Marine Corps, Record Group 127; National Archives in Washington, D.C.]

His war was over, although he still had to remain a Marine until his four-year term of enlistment ended at the beginning of December in 1919. For some unknown military reason he actually wasn't released from the service until 34 days later on January 10, 1920, so he's in the U.S. Census as a Marine Sergeant.****

[Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. For details on the contents of the film numbers, visit the following NARA web page: NARA.]

[Courtesy of Olive Kennedy]

Back home in Colorado, Pete went into business with his brother Harry (my grandfather).

[Courtesy of Olive Kennedy]

Sometime before 1930 he married a second time, to Evalyn M. Baer Atkins***** and helped raise her two children, although he never had any kids of his own. In 1934 and 1936 he ran for U.S. Congress for Colorado's Third District as a Socialist.

[Pete & Evalyn & "My cousin Mrs Purdue" Courtesy of Olive Kennedy]

Pete died on June 11, 1957, and is buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Longmont, Boulder County, Colorado, under a stone honoring his military service.

[U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1963. Original data from: The National Archives. Source: Fold3.com]

*Iona Island has had an interesting history you can read about here. It's now part of Bear Mountain State Park.
**The U.S.S. Henderson had just received a "dazzle" camouflage treatment. (For more and crazier examples go here.)
***Details of the sailing information was found here; this site has a huge amount of information about the Marine Corps in World War I. For a briefer history of the conflict from the Marine perspective, look here.
****During this period Pete married for the first time, but since no one knows what her name is it's clear that it didn't work out.
*****Pete and Evalyn were quite a couple. Someday I'll share some of the stories that have come to me about them (and Jake the magpie).


© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.