My British Ancestors, 2

The Shorthose line of the family has its beginnings as far back as William the Conqueror, in 1060.  William was married to Matilda and had four sons and four daughters with her; one of those sons was Robert Shorthose.  The earliest documented ancestor of our Shorthose line is Henry Shorthose and his wife Elizabeth, both born about 1700.  Henry and Elizabeth produced one child who they named Robert and he was born in Repton, Derbyshire on January 6, 1735.  On the 25^th of April, 1757, 22 year old Robert was married in Tutbury, Staffordshire to 31 year old Sarah Foard.

 Shorthose/Way Pedigree

Robert and Sarah started their family right away, and they produced seven children between 1757 and 1772, one of whom was also named Robert.  Firstborn was Elizabeth in 1757 followed by Sarah in 1759, Henry in 1760, Mary in 1763, Alice in 1766, Robert in 1768 and finally, Ann in 1772.  This second Robert was born in Burton-Upon-Trent, Staffordshire where he met his future wife Elizabeth Nash, who lived just seven miles away in the adjacent town of Sudbury, Derbyshire.  On the last day of February in 1797 Robert and Elizabeth were married at her home in Sudbury.

Robert was a “gamekeeper” and he and Elizabeth started their family with the arrival of John on the fourth of July, 1797.  John was quickly followed by Sarah on January 11, 1799, Elizabeth on Jan 10, 1801, and Robert #3 on February 13, 1805.  Robert passed away at the young age of 38 shortly after the birth of his son, Robert (#3), and the family was left to fend for themselves.  The oldest son, John, became a wheelwright/Country Gentleman and his sister Elizabeth went on to live a long life, passing away in 1882.  The oldest daughter, Sarah, only lived for a year and a half, passing away on June 5, 1800 and is buried with her father in St. Lawrence Churchyard in Heanor, Derbyshire.

Robert number three was a farmer, and farmed 25 acres in Anslow, Staffordshire.  He married Catherine Smith on the 24^th of May, 1824 and they went on to have eight children between 1827 and 1843.  At one point in his life, Robert ran a farm and a “Beer-house,” and the home he lived in with his wife, Catherine, is still standing today.

In the 1861 census, Robert and Catherine can be found living with their son, William, who is 18 and an 8 year old granddaughter, Mary E. Birch, who was born in Horninglow, less than a mile away.  Mary is the daughter of Robert’s oldest child, Mary Shorthose who was married to Frederick Birch in 1851.  Mary died in 1861 and the grandparents were taking care of Mary’s young daughter.  By 1871, the farm has grown to 36 acres and 65 year old Robert and 70 year old Catherine are living on the farm with son William who is now 28 and taken a wife of his own, Sarah who is 30

In the 1881 census, Robert is a 75 year old “retired farmer” and his wife Catherine has passed away.  Robert is still head of the family and is living with his daughter Sarah and her husband John Upton and their two children, George and Harry Upton.  The Upton farm is located adjacent to the Shorthose farm and is still in the possession of the Upton family as of 2010.  Robert passed away on the 23^rd of September, 1886, his wife Catherine in April of 1873.

Of Robert and Catherine’s eight children, it is Henry who we want to follow.  Henry was born on the 28^th of July, 1833 in Anslow, Staffordshire, England and lived on a farm he inherited from his uncle Josiah.  In 1851, 18 year old Henry is listed as head of household and living with his 19 year old sister Sarah.  It is unclear why Henry’s sister is not living at the family farm unless she moved in with her brother to help him run the farm he inherited from his uncle.  Sarah does not remain with her brother for long as she soon marries John Morris Upton in 1855 and moves back to her father’s home at “Gate Inn” in Anslow, with her new husband.

It is 30 years later, in the 1881 census that we find 49 year old Henry  living in Tatenhill, Staffordshire, a portion of Burton-Upon-Trent with his 50 year old wife Laurina Morcrofft and three of his seven children, 13 year old Arthur, 8 year old Laurina, and 3 year old Robert.  His son, John Henry, born in 1856 has married Elizabeth Archer and has move to the adjacent community of Winshill.  Elizabeth’s father worked at the Bass Brewery in Burton-Upon-Trent.

By the time of the 1891 census, Henry is a 57 year old widower supporting his 18 year old daughter Laurina and his 13 year old son, Robert.  Henry passed away on the first of June, 1899.

Henry’s son, John Henry is the focus of the next generation.  John Henry and his wife Elizabeth Archer gave birth to my Grandfather, and the man who would marry Lily Way, Arthur Edward Shorthose.  John Henry worked at the Bass Brewery in Burton as a “Maltster” and lived nearby in Winshill, Staffordshire all his life.  He and Elizabeth had five children between 1881 and 1990.  John William was the first, followed by Laura Dinah, Annie Elizabeth, Arthur Edward on 31 August, 1886, and the baby of the family, Francis Harry, who was born on the 17^th of August, 1890.

The 1891 census shows the family all together at 70 North Street, except for 8 year old daughter Laura Dinah.  For some reason, Laura Dinah is counted with her grandparents, the Archers, and her aunt, Dinah A., living at 65 North Street, just a few houses down the road.

The family can be found again in the 1901 census but 14 year old Arthur and 16 year old Annie as well as 18 year old Dinah are no longer with the family.  Only 19 year old John and 10 year old Francis remain with their parents.  Laura Dinah is working as a live-in servant in the small village of Boylestone, just ten miles to the northwest of the family home in Winshill, Burton-Upon-Trent.  Annie cannot be found in the 1901 census, but in 1910 she married Alfred J. Redfern and had 3 children with him before, in 1918, he was killed in action in WWI in “Flanders.”  Annie lived out her life near her family in Burton-Upon-Trent.

Sometime after 1901, Francis Harry Shorthose emigrated to Canada where he found work as a “Clerk.”  He enlisted in the “Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force” during WWI, on February 5, 1915 and saw action in France.  After the war, he visited his parents in Burton-Upon-Trent and met a young lass he would later marry.  Francis returned to Canada, and in 1920 sent for his future bride, Edith Mary Shepherd.  Francis and Edith were married in 1920 in the extremely small village of Rathwell, in Manitoba Canada.  Francis and Edith had three children in Rathwell, but at some point they headed west again and ended up finishing out their lives in Victoria, British Columbia in the Pacific Northwest.  Edith passed away on the 10 of November, 1964 and Francis followed her to his final reward ten years later on the 16^th of December, 1974 and

This brings us to the final member of the family, my grandfather, Arthur Edward Shorthose.  As previously mentioned, Arthur was born on August 31^st, 1886.  It was the time when Karl Benz patented the first gasoline-driven automobile and of the “Haymarket riots in Chicago.  “Coca-Coke” is first advertised in March of that year and President Grover Cleveland dedicated the Statue of Liberty.  The “Gunfight at the OK Corral” had taken place only 5 years before, and the final eruption of Krakatoa in August of 1883 was still showing its effects on world temperatures.

Arthur grew up in Burton-Upon-Trent and was well on his way to a career in law enforcement when he married Lily Way in 1906.  On their marriage certificate he is listed as a “Police Constable” and is residing at the police station in Brownhills, Staffordshire.  Lily was listed as a domestic servant.  Arthur and Lily had 6 children before World War I interrupted their lives but only five of the children survived to adulthood.  The survivors were William Henry (20 Feb. 1909), Leonard Frank (8 Jun 1911), Sydney John (1913), Lilian Emma (6 Mar 1914) and Ernest (Jan 1915).  On January 4^th 1915, 29 year old Arthur entered the “Army Service Corps,” regiment TRS/6285 and was immediately sent to the “Western Front.”  Arthur was one of the many thousands who suffered “shell shock” during that war and he was never the same afterward.  With his career in law enforcement ended by his disability, Arthur tried his hand at many small jobs over the years but basically survived on his military disability pension for the remainder of his life.

After the war, Arthur and Lily had four more children including my mother, Elsie Merina.  Laura E. was born in 1919 and died from Scarlet Fever when she was 20 years old in 1939.  Dorothy was born on October 24, 1920, Elsie Merina on April 22, 1922 and Marjorie was born in 1927 and died before her first birthday.

Lily Way lived to the age of 85 and passed away on February 6, 1970.  Just over two years later, 86 year old Arthur died on December 27, 1972.  They finished out their lives at 36 Blackthorn Road, Stapenhill, Staffs, England.

My British Ancestors

My mother’s name was Elsie Merina Shorthose.  Her parents were Arthur Edward Shorthose and Lily Way and I only met them once during a trip to England in 1963.

 Arthur and Lily, ca. 1955

Even in his old age, Arthur stood very tall, well over six feet.  Lily, on the other hand, was barely over five feet.  Lily and Arthur lived at 36 Blackthorn Road, Burton-Upon-Trent, Stapenhill, Staffs, England.  As a young boy I wrote letters to my grandparents and that address is etched into my memory even though I didn’t understand what all the words related to until much later.  36 Blackthorn Road is part of a government housing project in a section of the town of Burton-Upon-Trent called Stapenhill.  Burton-Upon-Trent is located in the Shire (county) of Stafford on the Trent River.

Arthur was on disability most of his life due to his experiences on the “Western Front” during WWI.  He was used to being waited on and Lily was the perfect match for him.  When I met them in 1963, they were both in their late seventies and Arthur was stooped,  using a cane, and appeared fully his age, Lily still had a little of the devil in her demeanor, and a twinkle in her eye even though she was two years older than Arthur.  She waited on her beloved husband hand and foot.  Arthur enjoyed his glass of Bass Stout every night before bedtime.  Burton-Upon-Trent is the home of the Bass Brewing Company which was established there in 1777.  Many of the family ancestors worked at the brewery.

Lily Way’s lineage can be traced back to the matriarch of the family and my great, great grandmother, Susanna (Stone) Way.  Susanna was born in 1818 in the town of Poole, county of Dorset, in England.  In the 1841 census she is living on Lagland Street in the town of Poole with her mother and father and eight brothers and sisters.  Susanna’s father, William Stone, is a “Labourer” and Susanna is a “Dress Maker.”  The only brother old enough to work, 15 year old John, is a “Mariner.”  That the town of Poole was home to a busy seaport is evidenced in the census records of the time.  Every page lists Sailors, Ropemakers, Fishermen, Mariners, Carpenters, and Riggers, as occupations, along with an assortment of Lamplighters, Cordwainers, Day Servants, Charwomen, Dress Makers and Chimney Sweeps.  Many of the husbands and men are listed “at sea.”

In England as in the United States, the census is taken every ten years, but unlike the U.S. census, the British census is taken in years ending with “1” such as 1841, 1851, 1861 etc.  Also, the British census is taken on one particular night, and not collected over a period of months as is done in the United States.  In the U.S. census, it is not unusual to find a son or daughter named after the father or mother, but in the British census it is almost a universal rule.  If there is a son, he is almost always named after the father, and the same applies for daughters and mothers.

Susanna’s husband, Peter Way, first appears in the records when he is married to Susanna sometime during the last three months of 1841.  He must have been “at sea” during the census of June 6, 1841 since he cannot be found listed there.  As luck would have it, he also missed the 1851 census for the same reason and by 1861, Susanna is listed as a widow.  We never find Peter in any census records, and only know of him by his marriage records to Susanna, and Baptismal records of his daughter, Sarah.  Susanna’s youngest children were born in 1857, so it is safe to assume that Peter lived, at least, until 1856, but that is all we know about him so far. 

In the 1851 census, Susanna is still living on Lagland Street in the “Tailors Building.” With her three daughters, 8 year old Eliza, 5 year old Susan, and a 5 month old baby, Sarah T.  She is listed as a “mariners wife whose husband is “at sea,” and Eliza is attending school.  Susanna’s brother-in-law, Thomas Way is living with his wife Elizabeth and their 6 children, less than a mile away on “Stokes Alley.”  Even though Peter is missing in most of the records of the time, the growth of the family indicates the “mariner” spent a lot of time at home during the years between censuses.

By the next census in 1861, Susanna is still on Lagland Street with Eliza, Susan, and Sarah, but now she has 8 year old Louisa, 7 year old Merina, and twins Henry James and Robert Thomas who are 3 years old.  Susanna is now listed as a widow, and a “Charwoman” and her 18 year old daughter Eliza is working as a “domestic.”  A “Charwoman” is a British term for a person who cleans homes.  15 year old Susan is working as a “tailoress” and the remaining children, except for the twins are in school.  My mother’s name is Elsie “Merina” and I have always wondered where that unusual spelling came from.  Now I know, it was Susanna’s daughter!

By the next census, in 1871, the family is beginning to disperse.  Susanna has moved out and is living with the Beaumont family on Towngate Street, just a quarter of a mile away from the family home on Lagland Street.  She is 52 years old and working as a “monthly nurse” for the Beaumont’s baby daughter.  Susanna’s 21 year old daughter Sarah is working on the Locke farm as housemaid and 25 year old Susan is nowhere to be found.  At the family home on Lagland Street, we find that 17 year old Merina is now “Head of household” and taking care of her 13 year old twin brothers, Henry James and Robert Thomas.  Also living with them is Merina’s older sister Eliza and Eliza’s two children, 2 year old Frederick William and 1 year old Arthur A.

In 1868, Eliza married William Wade.  William was also a “mariner” born in London and  both of Eliza and William’s children were born in London.  It may sound strange, at first, to find a mariner living so far from the coast, but in the early days, London was accessible by sea via the Thames River.  William must have sailed out of London to the town of Poole where he met Eliza, whereupon he married her and took her to London.  In the census of 1871, Merina is listed as a “Brush Drawer” while twin brothers Henry and Robert are “Errand boys.”  Notes for Eliza say that she is the wife of a ships carpenter, and that he is “at sea,” which explains why she is living with her sister Merina.

By 1881, most of the family has fled the town of Poole.  Susanna is a 64 year old “annuitant” living back at Lagland Street with her 23 year old son Robert who is a “Carpenter.”  The other twin, Henry James has left his hometown of Poole and moved to a town in the Midlands called Burton-Upon-Trent.  We have not been able to locate Henry James in the 1881 census, but since Henry’s future wife Emma Foss is still residing with her parents in the 1881 census, and Henry & Emma’s first child, George Henry, was born in January of 1883, it is a safe assumption that 23 year old Henry James arrived in Burton-Upon-Trent around 1880.  Soon after his arrival, Henry James met and married 23 year old Emma Foss from the nearby community of Derby.

By 1891, Susanna is still living with her son Robert who has now taken a wife in the person of 28 year old Sarah Ellen, and they have two children, 1 year old Merina Maude, and 2 month old Arthur Clemont Way.  Susanna passed away just a couple of years later in October of 1893.  Arthur Clemont is destined to emigrate to the United States in 1909 at the age of 18 where he met his wife, Grace Alice.  Arthur and Grace lived in New Haven, Connecticut, and in 1915 had a daughter who they named Grace.

Henry James and Emma are listed in the 1891 census; he as a “Railway Signalman.”  They have three children by this time, George Henry who is 8 years old, Lily (my grandmother) who is 6, and Sydney who is 3.  They are also taking care of Emma’s mother, Emma (Gilbert) Foss who is 67 years old, born in Derby, and listed as a widow.

In the following census of 1901, Emma’s mother is no longer with the family.  Henry and Emma have had another child, Arthur, who was born in 1892 and Emma herself is listed as a widow, Henry having died in a railroad accident in December of 1892.  Eighteen year old son George is a “postman,” and his 13 year old brother Sydney is a “Barber’s Assistant.”  Emma and her daughter Lily are classified as Charity “office cleaners,” and 9 year old Arthur is in school.

In 1891, Lily’s future husband, 4 year old Arthur Edward Shorthose is living in Burton-Upon-Trent with his 35 year old father John H., his 32 year old mother Elizabeth, and his three siblings, John W. (9), Annie E. (6), and Francis H. Shorthose who is only 7 months old.

Tribute to the Grove family

This tribute to the Grove family was sent to me by my friend “LaCreta.”  LaCreta’s grandfather, William Henry McCaslin was brother to Sarah Melvina McCaslin, the wife of Thomas Franklin Grove.

LaCreta is a fellow genealogist and provided me with almost everything I know about the McCaslin side of the family.  She is also the only person I know who has had the distinction of having her photo taken with Elvis Presley.  The photo was taken by LaCreta’s sister Virginia Counts who was on assignment for the local newspaper.

LaCreta and Elvis (LaCreta in left foreground)

LaCreta’s tribute:

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

This expression most certainly applies to Thomas, Sarah and their children.  In the last few days I have gone through the hundreds of photographs that Robert Henderson made available to us on 2 DVDs.  There must have been a camera available at all times with this family.

In those pictures I see smiling, pretty young sisters and their handsome brother. There are pictures of the girls with their arms around each other or with their friends and other family members. Later, the pictures show these same smiling, loving siblings all grown up, with spouses and children of their own.  Smiling...always smiling......This had to have been a very happy family with proud, caring parents.

The pictures say Thomas worked hard and provided well for his family.

They tell me Sarah was a dedicated wife and mother who probably sewed and made many of her daughter's clothes, as well as her own.  She surely had a big influence in the way her children were always well groomed.  They all certainly displayed a sense of fashion, from their cute hats and caps...the big bows they wore in their perfectly coiffed hair...to their neat and pretty dresses and coats...even their stylish shoes and boots!

The photographs of them in a card game, in funny poses,  goofing off at a swimming hole and clowning around with each other, or their friends, speak loudly of the sense of humor they all had.

The images of the girls in their school activities hint that they were serious students who probably couldn't wait to get to school each day.  I'll bet they were smart, too.

These pictures just have to tell us that these siblings could not have been so happy, creative, confident and fun loving without the influence of Thomas and Sarah, their loving and supportive parents.

The Grove Clan, Ch. 6

Lennie Anna Grove, or “Coodie” as she was known to her family and friends, was the baby of the family.  She was born in Cottonwood Oklahoma, about 1 mile outside of Coalgate on March 31, 1903.  Lennie was a happy girl with lots of spirit and a touch of playfulness that endeared her to all who met her.  She had many friends that she stayed in touch with all her life.

 Lennie Grove, ca. 1918

Lennie attended Coalgate High School and was a Junior in the year her sister, Ethel, was teaching English at the same school.  She was very active in school events and was given honorable mention for helping to organize the very first stage play given by a Junior class in Coalgate High School.  She was a member of the “V.H.B.” club, a secretive organization of the Junior girls.  Lennie also attended most of the football games when they were close enough to her home.  During one of the games against their chief rivals, the Wampus Cats, of Atoka High School, she met her boyfriend and future husband William Wallace Betts, who played on the Atoka team.

 Atoka "Wampus Cats" ca. 1920

As chance would have it, during one of Lennie and Wallace’s romantic interludes in March of 1921, Lennie Anna Grove became pregnant, three months before she was scheduled to graduate from high school.  In the early 1920’s, this was cause to raise eyebrows so, before Lennie’s condition became apparent, and immediately after she graduated from High School, she was spirited away to Saint Louis, Missouri to stay with her brother Charles Gunnison until after she had given birth to her daughter, who she named Anna Bell.

Upon their return to Oklahoma, Lennie returned to her future husband Wallace Mitchell Betts in Atoka, and they were soon married.

 Wallace and Lennie, ca. 1970


To maintain Lennie’s secret, Anna Bell was sent to live with Lennie’s parents, Thomas and Sarah Grove in nearby Coalgate and the story was circulated that she was adopted by the Groves; a false rumor that persists with some members of the family, to this day (2009).  Anna Bell grew up in the home of her maternal grandparents, thinking they were her parents.  She is even listed on the 1930 federal census of Coalgate, as daughter to Sarah and Frank Grove.  It is apparent from Frank’s correspondence with his daughter Hazel, who he referred to by the nickname of “Boog,” that he liked this arrangement.  Anna Bell was a delight to him, and he loved her very much.  He nicknamed her Tee-Tie.

 Thomas Franklin Grove and his granddaughter Anna Bell ("Tee-Tie") ca. 1926

For obvious reasons, Lennie is the only one of the Grove girls who did not graduate from college.  After her marriage to Wallace, she took a position with Southwestern Bell as a switchboard operator at 104 North Delaware Avenue, in Atoka.

 Lennie at the switchboard, ca. 1925

Lennie visited her daughter in Coalgate almost every weekend while she pursued her career with the phone company.  She became a lifelong member of the First Baptist Church on the corner of highway 69 and East “A” street in downtown Atoka, just a few hundred feet from where she worked.  Wallace opened a barber shop at 122 North Pennsylvania Avenue, the next block East and right behind the building where Lennie worked.

 Wallace in his first barber shop, ca. 1928

Lennie and Wallace’s first home was less that one half mile from where they both worked and attended church, but they eventually moved to a nicer home at 1215 South Choctaw Avenue.  Wallace built a new barber shop in front of their new home, and moved his business to this new location.

 Wallace in his second barber shop, ca. 1954

Lennie’s father, Thomas Franklin Grove, was killed in a tragic automobile accident in 1931, that left her mother Sarah and her daughter Anna Bell alone on the farm.  Since Lennie’s sister Hazel lived just across the highway, the two sisters made arrangements for Anna Bell to stay on with Sarah to keep her company with the understanding that Hazel was close by and would keep an eye on them.  It also allowed Anna Bell to finish grammar school with the friends she grew up with.

It was 1935 before Lennie finally took her daughter to live with her.  They had managed to keep their secret for 13 years and when they finally brought Anna Bell home, they perpetuated the adoption myth.  The only difference was that Lennie and Wallace were now the adoptive parents instead of Thomas and Sarah.  Anna Bell was 13 years old before she found out she was not one of the Grove sisters, but a Betts.  Anna Bell finished her high school education at the same school her father graduated from in 1921.

Wallace Mitchell was an avid hunter, and found any excuse to close his shop to join his buddies on their many hunting trips.  Squirrels, possums, wild boars and deer were just a few of the critters he bagged.  He was also an avid fisherman and the tall fish stories that passed between him and his friends are legendary.  Although all this outdoor activity made him many friends and contacts in the business and political world, it left Lennie on her own a lot of the time but she did not seem to mind.  Of all the Grove girls, she seems to have been the happiest and was never without a smile on her face.  She immersed herself in her work and church, and was awarded many honors at both.

During World War II, Wallace served in the Coast Guard and was stationed in San Diego, California.

 Wallace in the Coast Guard, ca. 1943


At some point, Wallace was the victim of alcohol poisoning and ended up in a care facility in the San Bernardino mountains.  Lennie transferred within the Bell Telephone company to their Riverside, California facility to be near her husband during his crisis.  After the war, Lennie and Wallace returned to their home in Atoka, Oklahoma where Wallace re-opened his barber shop and Lennie returned to her original job at the phone company.

With the help of his political connections, Wallace was elected to the Atoka Town Council, and through his political contacts, he actually served as the Sergeant of Arms in the Oklahoma State Senate for one term.  Back at home he managed to be appointed Game Warden for his district, a position he held for many years.

In 1969, Lennie retired from the phone company after thirty five years of service and devoted all her time to Wallace and her church.  Wallace, who was born on May 4^th, 1904, worked in his barber shop until he passed away on June 27^th, 1980.  After Wallace’s death, Lennie immersed herself in her church, teaching Sunday School and organizing many of the church’s social events.

Lennie lived by herself for nine years before her daughter Anna Bell moved back to Atoka to help care for her.  With Anna Bell’s help, Lennie was able to stay in her own home for another 5 years, but in 1995 she fell in her home and could not get up.  Her doctors kept her in a nursing home for a while, and eventually she moved into Anna Bell’s home where they could watch her more closely.

Lennie Anna Grove passed away on January 20^th, 1997 just two months shy of her 94^th birthday, a testimony to her approach to life and her uplifting spirit.

The Grove Clan, Ch. 5

Flora Irene Grove, or “Scrap” to her friends and family, grew up with her sisters in Coalgate, Oklahoma.  She graduated from Coalgate High School in the class of 1918, and went on to attend “District School.”  She eventually went on to college, and graduated to become a teacher like her sisters, Hazel and Ethel.  Flora got her first teaching assignment in Ada, Oklahoma, about 30 miles from the home in Coalgate where she grew up.

 Flora Irene Grove, ca. 1916

One day Flora took her students on a field trip looking for possums, when they accidentally strayed onto land owned by the parents of Sterling Arnold Jones.  Sterling worked in the oil fields in the area while his parents farmed.

Sterling Jones, ca. 1920

The story has it that Sterling went to remove Flora and her students from his land, and that is how Flora met her future husband.  From that chance meeting, love blossomed.  Flora and Sterling were married in 1924.

Flora and Sterling Jones, ca. 1918

Flora and Sterling stayed on his parent’s peanut farm near Maxwell, OK, and started their family with the birth of Kenneth Wayne on December 29, 1925.  Kenneth was born in Coalgate so it is reasonable to believe that Flora was either at the home of her parents for the holidays, or she wanted to be near her family during her first delivery.  A year later, Wanda Florine was born on January 22, 1927.

 Wanda Florine Jones, ca. 1948

Wanda was born outside of Ada, Oklahoma, in the township of Maxwell, probably at home.  It was two and a half years before the next child, Arlene Joyce was born on July 3^rd, 1929, also at home in Maxwell.

Arlene Joyce Jones, ca. 1950

A year and a half later, the last of their 4 children, Murray Sterling, was born on February 4^th, 1931.  His birth took place in the town of Stratford, about 8 miles from the family farm.

Murray Sterling Jones, ca. 1948

Arlene Joyce remembers the peach tree out back where Flora would send her to “get a switch” if she misbehaved.  She remembers, very fondly, of being “daddy’s girl” and the favorite of her older brother, Kenneth Wayne.  She remembers how much her father, Sterling, enjoyed hunting during the deer season, and the venison he provided for the dinner table.

Flora was an excellent seamstress, as all the Grove girls were, and made dresses for her girls from the proverbial “flour sacks” that were prevalent during the depression era.  Flora’s daughter Arlene Joyce remembers that her mom put so much starch in the dresses that there was barely enough room in the back seat of their automobile for the two girls when they went to church on Sundays.  Flora was also very good at canning and preserving, and would often sell her goods at the local fairs.

 Sterling and Flora, ca. 1936

Life in a small rural town was good, and it was quite a change to move from that environment to the big town of Oklahoma City, with all its hustle and bustle of wartime activity.  Sometime in 1940, with the storm clouds of World War II looming on the horizon, the family moved to Harrah, Oklahoma right outside of Oklahoma City.  Both Sterling and Flora went to work at the Boeing airplane factory and stayed there until after the war.  Kenneth Wayne enlisted in 1944, and his sister Arlene Joyce prayed for him every night until he returned.  Arlene Joyce graduated from high school in 1946 and shared an apartment with her sister Wanda Florine while she worked at Walgreens and attended “Capitol Business College.”  After graduation, Arlene Joyce went to work for AT&T and stayed with them for 30 years.

 Flora Irene Grove, ca. 1983

Sterling passed away on January 16^th, 1962 from a case of “3-day pneumonia,” and was laid to rest at Memorial Park cemetery in Oklahoma City.  It was all very sudden, and Flora was left alone.  All the children had grown and gone on with their lives.  Flora had always been very spiritual and fully involved in her church activities and this kept her going through these troubled times.  Later, to keep busy, Flora took a job at a posh restaurant called O’nealys.  She never remarried, and visited Sterling at Memorial Park every weekend until she died on June 25^th, 1988, a full 26 years after she lost her beloved husband, Sterling.

The Grove Clan, Ch. 4

Hazel Opal Grove “Boog” to her family and friends, was the middle child of the Grove clan and was born on the 21^st of October, 1897 in Coalgate, Oklahoma.  She attended Coalgate High School and graduated with the class of 1916.  She enrolled in “District School,” and went on to graduate from college with a teaching degree.

                                   Hazel, ca. 1916

Like her sister Ethel, Hazel taught school in her home town of Coalgate, but unlike her sister, she taught grammar school instead of high school.  It seems that none of the girls stayed with their teaching careers very long after marriage, and Hazel was no different.  It appears that she only taught school for six or seven years before she took a position with the phone company in Ada, about 15 miles from Coalgate.

                                        Hazel, on right, ca. 1921

Hazel is the daughter who stayed in her hometown, near her parents.  She was there to help out during those trying years of 1926 to 1928 when her father, Thomas Franklin, had to travel to Texas looking for work.  She gave them money when they didn’t have enough to put food on the table.  She was there when her sister Ethel’s baby daughter Charlene died during a visit from Colorado, in 1929.  In 1931 when her father was killed in a highway accident out in front of their home, she was there to help her mother and niece, even though she had a husband and a home of her own at the time.  She became the matriarch of the family, and many of her extended family relied upon her.  Hazel was instrumental in the raising of her sister’s daughter Anna Bell, and watching over her mother for twenty years after her father died.  She also aided her mother-in-law, Lucinda “Scott” Warren who lived on her own and raised flowers.  Added to this, she managed to raise a family of her own that included 4 boys and a girl.

Hazel’s niece, Anna Bell Betts recalls the time she and her friend Virginia Estes came home from school to Gam’s, the name they had given to Hazel’s mother, Sarah Melvina.  Not finding the boiled potatoes they loved so much, they made a bee-line to Hazel’s and got into her cooking sherry.  By the time Hazel discovered them, it was too late.  The girls had obviously had too much to drink and spent the rest of the day recovering from their misguided adventure.

Hazel was engaged to another man when she met her husband, Raymond Werner Warren in Coalgate, Oklahoma.

                                Hazel, third from left, ca. 1918

It must have been love at first sight because they were married shortly after they met in 1927.  Raymond was working for “Hudson’s Big Country Store” in Coalgate, driving a truck.  He would travel to Missouri and other places to pick up produce and livestock to supply the store.  After Raymond and Hazel were married, Raymond purchased his own truck and started trading chickens and other livestock to packing plants as far away as Port Arthur, Texas, and Lake Charles, Louisiana.

               Hazel and Raymond Werner Warren, ca. 1927

The following is the transcript of a letter written by Hazel’s father, Thomas Franklin Grove wherein he tells about Hazel’s sister Lennie and her husband Wallace Betts.  Lennie and Wallace lived 15 miles away in Atoka, and had obviously been out to the Grove farm to visit their daughter “Tee-Tie” [Anna Bell Betts] who was being raised by Thomas and Sarah Melvina (that story in chapter 6).  Also, he mentions that they are getting ready to start construction on the new highway that would cut right through the Grove farm, and is the road on which Thomas was killed 4 years later.  It seems as they had all taken a drive to Ada, Ok, and left Thomas at home by himself.

Coalgate, OK,  3/30/1927

Dear old Boog.  Received your letter with money order.  Was so sorry you was not well.  Be sure and take good care of yourself whatever happens because your health is always to be considered before anything else.  We are all well.  Hope this finds you better if not altogether well.  Mama & Wallace, Lennie & Tee-Tie went to Ada Sunday.  We sure are having one time trying to farm as everybody else is.  The ground had got dry enough so we could get in the field.  I cut cotton stalks one day or 2-1/2 days and Monday afternoon it came an awful rain and has been thick cloudy ever since and is misting rain now.  Mr. Jennings has not got anything planted but [illegible (Spuds, Spinach?)].

Boog, get a bottle of Harlem oil, drop it in a teaspoonful of sugar and take it for your back.  Take 10 drops 3 times a day for your throat.  Drop a few drops in a little water and gargle that in your throat 3 or 4 times a day.  That is what I done for my throat and it got well right away.

There is not much news here.  Nothing ever happens but we are satisfied here if the weather would get better.  I almost forgot to tell you you can get Harlem oil in capsules that is the best way to take it.  The road will not touch our onion patch, but will go right through our potato patch.  We did not know that before we planted.  We don’t know when they will start the road.

Write often,

Lots of love, Dad, Mama & Tee Tie

It was the height of “The Great Depression” when Hazel and Raymond started their family with the arrival of Paul Franklin on January 3, 1932.  After that, the children came in quick succession with William Aubrey on May 9, 1933, followed by Doyle Raymond on December 9, 1935 and Hoyt Clark on October 8, 1937.  Hazel Jayne was the last born of Hazel’s children, arriving a full five years after her youngest brother, on December 8, 1942.

Hazel’s daughter, Hazel Jayne, recalls the depression era, rural lifestyle of the time.  The boys would be up early and milk the cows, so they always had fresh dairy products and a big garden kept them in fresh vegetables in season.  They had fruit trees and Hazel made preserves and canned much of the garden produce.  Like all the Grove girls, Hazel was a good seamstress and made many of the clothes they wore.  Flour sacks were the material of the time, and many of the producers printed their sacks to be suitable for dress material.  The kitchen was supplied with plates and saucers that came in boxes of oatmeal, and the jams and jellies they purchased provided drinking glasses.  Hazel would mark the kid’s glasses with their initials so there would not be any confusion.

Hazel suffered from gallstones during much of her later life, but she persevered through the discomfort.  She is the only one of the Grove girls who passed away before her husband and died on April Fools day in 1975, followed two and a half years later by her husband, Raymond on December 29, 1977.

The Grove Clan, Ch. 3

Ethel Lucile Grove was born in Coalgate, Oklahoma on November the 18, 1894.  Ethel, or “Sister” as she was known to her family and friends, was the second oldest of the surviving Grove children, and graduated from Coalgate High School in Coalgate, OK in 1913.  Her diploma is in the possession of her daughter, Marna.

 Ethel Lucile Grove, ca. 1907

After graduation she attended the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK where she received a degree in education to teach high school English and Latin.  She told her daughter Marna that it took her five years to complete her studies because she had to work her way through college.  She would have graduated in 1918.

Ethel Lucile Grove, ca. 1914

Upon graduation from college, Ethel joined the faculty of Coalgate High School as an English teacher.  She was now teaching in the very school she graduated from.  She only stayed on at Coalgate for 4 years, before she felt the need to move on.  It may have been a lack of opportunities in Oklahoma or just a desire to travel that took Ethel to Fruita, Colorado, but in either case, that is where she went, and it gave her an opportunity to visit her cousin Wynema and her husband Fred Earl Eidson, who lived in Fruita.  Wynema was the daughter of Cynthia McCaslin and Cynthia was Sarah Melvina’s sister and Ethel’s Aunt.

  Ethel Lucile Grove, ca. 1918

Tragically, Wynema died that same year after catching typhoid fever from a child she helped care for while she was visiting a friend in the hospital.  The child was ill with typhoid and Wynema tried to help and came down with the illness herself.

Wynema Brewer, ca. 1920
 

Wynema died in August of 1923 leaving her husband, Fred Earl Eidson, with two young children, Marshall (10) and Thomas (12).  Wynema’s sister, Rachel, and her husband took the children and raised them.  It is interesting to note that when Wynema’s mother Cynthia died in 1902, she left a husband and 6 children, the oldest of which was Wynema who was, also, only twelve.  Coincidentally, both mother and daughter died in their early thirties.

It appears that Ethel may have stayed and helped with the Eidson children, and must have taught school there for one year then went to Hayden and taught there for another year before she and Howard Erwin met and married on June 17, 1924.

Ethel Lucile and Howard Erwin, ca. 1924

In the words of Howard and Ethel’s daughter Marna:

“They may have met at a local dance.  Dances were quite popular at that time and were often held on Saturday evenings.  Some rode horses from a distance to attend, others came by horse and buggy.  According to the account of Mother and Dad's marriage in the local paper, they gave a free dance on a Wednesday night for the community and refreshments were served.  This was probably a custom of the times.

After a short attempt at homesteading on their own, Ethel and Howard made their home in Hayden, Colorado, on the ranch where Howard grew up.  They lived with Howard’s parents, William and Julia and that is where Ethel gave birth to their three children.  Marna Lois was the first and was born on March 20^th, 1925.  Bennie Grove came next and he was born on September 3^rd, 1926.  The youngest, Charlene Ethel was born on May 26^th, 1928.  A few months after Charlene’s birth, the family made a trip to Coalgate, OK to visit Ethel’s parents, Thomas and Sarah Grove.  Tragically, while they were visiting in Oklahoma, Charlene became ill and died at the age of 13 months and 14 days.  The following are the remembrances of Ethel’s daughter, Marna:

Mother had gone with Bennie, Charlene and me to visit her family in Oklahoma the summer of 1929.  While we were there Charlene became ill and died.  Her obituary in the Coalgate paper says she had bowel trouble.  I always thought it was a type of summer flu and in those days they didn't know how to treat it.  I never asked mother what the specific cause was and I regret that.

She was taken by train back to Colorado and buried in the Hayden, CO cemetery where my mother and dad are buried. Yes, it is true she was only 13 months old at the time of her death. I can remember wanting to pick Charlene up while she was sick and they wouldn't let me, but I didn't know why.  I can also remember Mother sitting on Dad's lap after she got home from Oklahoma and crying.

After the death of Howard’s father William Joshua Erwin in 1929, Howard’s mother, Julia Dennie Erwin, went to California to live with her two daughters, Vivian and Mabel who were both married and living in San Diego.  Julia was not there very long before she became ill with appendicitis, underwent surgery, and died in November of 1930.  They brought her back to Hayden, Colorado for burial.  The 1929/1930 season was not a happy one for the Erwins.  In that short period of time, Howard and Ethel lost a daughter, and both of Howard’s parents.

Howard and Ethel took over the family ranch after Julia’s death and according to their daughter Marna, they remained on the ranch until their retirement at about age 65, whereupon they sold the ranch, and moved into town.  “It was very difficult for them to do this but their health compelled them to do so.  Mother would have stayed on the farm until she died if Dad hadn't made her move to town.”

Marna further describes their home life as:

 “A typical ranching operation.  Dad had about 40 head of Shorthorn cattle, they all had calves in the spring and the calves were shipped to Denver, CO in the fall where they were bought for feeder cattle.  He also had some wheat ground, I don't remember how many acres, and pasture ground for the cattle to summer on.  He had 80 acres of hay in the valley where we lived.  The hay was stacked in the summer and fed to the cattle in the winter. He usually kept about 7 milk cows.  He and mother loved the ranch and although work was hard they never complained.

Our ranch was about a mile from town, so Bennie and I could walk to school.  There were no busses at that time.  If the weather were very bad in the winter, Dad would take us to school on a sled pulled by a team of horses, but the majority of the time we walked even in winter. We didn't ride horseback to school, but there were many children in the valley that did.

Dad did most of the outside work, milking cows night and morning, tending to the cattle, etc.  Most of mothers work was in the house.  Yes, she was a very good cook, could fry chicken to perfection and made the most delicious biscuits every morning for breakfast.  She also took care of the chickens, feeding them and gathering the eggs.  Dad did most of the hard work tending the garden.  We had a very large garden with lots of fresh vegetables.  Mother did the canning.  I don't remember us ever being hungry or doing without anything.  In fact, I can remember them sharing some of their produce with other people who didn't have much.  I don't think we had much cash, but managed somehow.

Mother talked some about her parents and family, but I don't remember a lot of it.  I do remember her sending some of mine and Bennie's clothing to Aunt Flora for her children.  As far as I know she had a good relationship with all of her family.

Marna and Bennie grew up in a rural atmosphere.  Their home was about a mile out of Hayden Colorado, and they walked that distance each day to attend school.  After school, and on weekends, they helped out with the never-ending chores of running a ranch.  When Marna was very young, she helped her mom in the kitchen but as she grew older, tending the chickens, collecting eggs, and bottle-feeding lambs became part of her responsibility.  She much preferred working outdoors, and eventually helped with the haying operations and drove teams of horses that pulled the hay wagons.

Marna kept busy with a myriad of school activities and joined the 4H club where she learned how to sew.  She developed asthma when she was 12 years old and that kept her out of sports, but that did not slow her down.  She was in many of the school plays, played clarinet in the school band, and sang in the choir and glee club.  She liked to sing, and performed many solos at her school functions.  She even sang a solo at her own graduation ceremonies.

In those days (1943) there were three major career paths for girls, nursing, teaching, and clerical activities.  Marna chose to enter the business world and “after graduation from high school, [she and some of her high school classmates] went to Denver, CO, [and] attended Barnes Business College for nine months.”  Initially they all stayed at the YWCA, but eventually found an apartment that they shared.  After graduation she “found employment at The Albany Hotel in the accounting department.  She “worked there for 2 1/2 years before getting married.”  The following is Marna’s account of how she met her husband, Denver Strait:

At the time I lived in Denver, World War II was going on and because there were two army bases located in Denver, there were plenty of service men looking for dates.  I joined the United Service Organization (USO) and spent many nice times entertaining the service men with dancing, etc.  I also spent time at a local roller skating rink, as it was a favorite pastime of mine.  It was there I met Denver Strait. He asked me to skate with him; we became acquainted and had many nice times together until he was shipped overseas.  We got married in July 1946 after his discharge from the army and the war was over.  His home was in Bryan, OH and he had a job to come to in Bryan after the war, so we came to Ohio to live. I have been here since 1946 and it is home to me.

After Ethel’s son Bennie graduated from high school he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II aboard the aircraft carrier, USS Intrepid (CVS-11).  The Intrepid, also known as The Fighting "I", is one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during the war and was only just commissioned in 1943 before Bennie became part of her crew.  Bennie was an eyewitness to the Japanese use of suicide bombers toward the end of the war when the Intrepid was hit by Kamikazes and badly damaged.  The ship had to return to port for repairs.  Fortunately, Bennie was not injured but some of the men aboard were killed. The Intrepid has now been made into a museum and lies at anchor in New York harbor.  Bennie is very proud of his time in the service and has a great deal of war memorabilia in his home.

After the war Bennie attended an agricultural and engineering college in Ft. Collins, CO.  He received a degree in veterinary medicine and had a practice in Encampment, Wyoming for many years. He gave up his practice eventually and moved to Urbana, IL and studied at the University of Illinois. He was awarded a PHD in veterinary medicine and taught at the University for a number of years before moving to Shawnee, Kansas.

Ethel would be proud of the legacy she left behind.  She was a young girl from a small rural town in Coal County Oklahoma who worked her way through college during the depression era and then ventured out on her own and found happiness.  Rising above the tragedy of losing a child, she raised a fine family and lived a long life.  Her husband Howard passed away on the 22^nd of May, 1976 after a marriage that lasted almost 52 years.  Ethel Lucile lived another five years after losing Howard, and passed away on April 2^nd, 1981.  Ethel and Howard are with their young daughter Charlene in the Hayden Cemetery in Hayden, Colorado.

The Grove Clan, Ch. 2

Charles Gunnison Grove was the oldest, and only surviving son of Thomas Franklin and Sarah Melvina Grove.  He was born in Colgate, Oklahoma on May 27^rd, 1893.  Charles had an older brother, Albert McComb who only lived for a year, and an older sister, Mary Altha who died at the age of two.

Charles graduated from Coalgate High School like his sisters, but did not go to “District School” or College.  His daughter, Mozelle Roseneau, tells about his early days looking for work.  As a young man, he traveled North to pick fruit when he wasn’t helping on his father’s farm.  In all the surviving photos of Charles, he is clearly of a different cut.  Slim and trim, and well dressed was his style.

Charles and a friend

He loved camping, hunting, and the outdoors.

Charles and his hunting dog

He followed in the footsteps of his father when he went to work in the mines of Coalgate, Oklahoma.  His father, Thomas Franklin, was a carpenter for the mining company, and Charles actually worked in the coal pits.  On his June 1917 WWI Draft Registration, he is listed as a coal miner.  Charles was drafted into the army in January of 1918 and received an honorable discharge 18 months later on August 14^th, 1919.

Charles’ military discharge

A year after his discharge from the military, Charles met Edith Bournheim.  Ediths family had just emigrated from Germany, and Edith was sent to stay with a family in Coalgate while her parents were seeking work in St. Louis, MO.  Charles and Edith were married in Coalgate on December 16^th, 1920

One day there was an accident at the mine that took the lives of several of the miners, and that had a large impact on Charles Gunnison’s future.

Rescuers entering the mine

After the birth of his only child, Mozelle Charlene, Charles decided the mines were too dangerous so he tendered his resignation and quit.

Mozelle, age 3

Mozelle Charlene was born on December 19^th, 1922, and shortly thereafter, Charles moved his wife and family to Illinois where, again, he was forced to take a job in the coal mines.  Charles knew he needed to get out of the dangerous mining industry, but was frustrated by the need to support his family.  At some point, the small family went to Edith’s parents home in Saint Louis, Missouri, where he embarked on his career in the burgeoning elevator industry, a career he would stay with for the rest of his life.

Sadly, in an effort to remove himself from the dangers of coal mining, Charles took up a profession that would cause his untimely death on the 6^th of September, 1960.  While working on an elevator, Charles was crushed to death when the elevator fell on him.