LEAP DAY AND FINDING JESS

Today is Leap Day -- February 29th -- which happens only once every four years. My Grandpa Charlie's half brother Uncle Joe (Gary) was born on Leap Day in 1912.  If he was still alive, he would have been 104 today but only would have celebrated 26 birthdays.

Four years ago, (wow, have I really been writing this blog that long?) when I wrote about Uncle Joe on this blog, I mentioned that I had very little information on his wife Jessica, who we actually knew as Aunt Jess. However, just recently I found more information on her.

First, I found her in the California Death Index.  She did outlive Uncle Joe and I do remember her living in Glendale, California so I was sure that this was her.  The death record gave her birth date as 18 Oct 1890 which meant she was 22 years older than Joe.  She did always seem a lot older than him. It said that she was born in Kansas (new information) and that her death date was 7 Sep 1979 (which seemed right).

I then found Joseph Gary (her husband) in the California, County Marriages records.  According to the record, Joseph Gary married Jessica G. Ray on 5 Oct 1941 at the Wedding Manor on Western Avenue in Los Angeles.  Joseph was listed as living with my Grandpa Charlie and his family in the US 1940 census.  So "Ray" was either Jessica's maiden name or married name from a previous marriage.  The marriage record did not include the marital status of Jessica.  Also listed on the record were the names of Jessica's parents -- Harry E. Williams and Minnie Denney.

I also found Jessica Gertrude Ray in the 1940 US census.  At that time she was 49 years old and her marital status was divorced.  Researching her mother (Minnie Denney), I found that Jessica had 5 siblings (which was big news to me because I had never heard of any relatives of hers).  She had an older brother Franklin, 2 younger brothers - Roger and Archie and 2 younger sisters -- Clara and Helen.  So, I found out a lot more that I had known previously.  Now I wonder how much of this information did my parents and grandparents know.

Well, back to Leap Day -- according to an Irish legend this is the day that allows women to propose to men.  I wonder if a lot of this is happening in Ireland today.  

Happy Leap Day!

THOSE PLACES THURSDAY

                 This is the house that my Grandmother Theresa Nebgen grew up in Chicago.  It is located on North Oakley. At the time of her birth in 1899, her parents Peter Joseph Nebgen and Theresa Homrich Nebgen and her siblings were living in a house on Noble Avenue in Chicago.  Some time before 1910, they moved 8 miles north to this house on North Oakley.  Theresa lived here with her parents until she moved in with her husband Charles Sherlock, probably about 1921.
             Theresa and Charles eloped when Theresa was 18 years old and Charles was 17 but then their parents made them live at their separate houses for a few more years.  In the 1920 census, Theresa is living with Peter and Theresa Nebgen while Theresa's husband Charles is living with his mother Bridget and his stepfather Joseph Gary and little brother Joseph Gary.  Peter and Theresa Nebgen (Theresa's parents) lived in this house until their deaths.

LEAP YEAR BABY!

          According to an old Irish legend, Saint Bridget made a deal with Saint Patrick that would allow for women to propose to men on Leap Day (February 29^th).  A man had to pay a penalty if he refused a woman’s proposition of marriage on this day. Now, I don’t know if any of the women in my family took advantage of this Irish legend, but I do know that we had a Leap Day Baby among my ancestors. 

          My paternal grandfather Charlie had a half brother named Joseph Gary.  Joseph was born on Leap Day in 1912 to Bridget Elizabeth Chambers (Charlie’s mom) and her husband Joseph Francis Gary.  At the time of his birth at their home (located at 310 Huron), the father Joseph was 28 years old and employed as a caulker for the city of Chicago and Bridget (his mother) was 35 years old.  Joseph was Elizabeth’s 5^th child but only her 2^nd living one. 

          Joseph Gary married a woman named Jessica.  I haven’t had any luck finding out her maiden name, where she was born, etc.  However, I did have the opportunity to meet her several times as a child.  She was a very nice woman.  I can’t find Joseph in the 1930’s census so I am definitely hoping that I have much better luck with the 1940’s census.

          Joseph and Jessica (or Jesse as she was known to us) lived in Glendale, California.  I found them in several city directories of Glendale in the 1950’s.  In the 1953 directory, it listed Joe as an “armature winder”.  Okay, definitely needed to look up that one and found that it meant his job was to locate the broken part of an electric motor (and more specifically its coils) and to repair or replace it. In the 1954 directory, his job was listed as electrical repair and then machine operator in 1955.    Then from 1958 to 1960, he was a gardener for the Board of Education.  

          Joseph died on March 6, 1974 in Glendale, California.   His funeral was held at the Holy Family Catholic Church.  He was buried at Valhalla Memorial Park in North Hollywood. 

          In the above photo, Uncle Joe is the man sitting at the bottom of the photo, while his wife Aunt Jesse is the hair with the white hair in the rear left.   I remember my Dad and Grandpa Charlie always making a big deal about Uncle Joe’s birthday.   They thought it was utterly fascinating that he only had a birthday every 4 years.   So, even though in 1972, he was 60 years old, he really had only celebrated 15 birthdays.  

          Happy Birthday, Uncle Joe, who if still alive, would be celebrating his 100^th birthday today and only his 25^th actual birthday celebration! 

Charles Zola Sherlock -- More on His Childhood Years

          In 1906, after Charlie’s return from Ireland and before his grandmother’s death, Charlie’s mother Bridget Chambers Sherlock remarried after being a widow for 5 years.  Bridget married Joseph Francis Gary, a man who was 13 years her junior and who worked as a laborer at the Pipe Company. 

          Charles’ death of his maternal grandmother in February 2, 1908 was only the beginning of more tragic times for Charlie (who was also known as Zola) and his family.  A mere six weeks later, Charlie’s older brother Edmund Bernard Sherlock died on 14 March 1908 at the age of 10 years old after suffering from acute bronchitis for only one day and from weeklong cold.  Edmund was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Chicago on St. Patrick’s Day.

A few months after Edmund’s death, Charlie’s mother Bridget got pregnant – whether it was purposely done to wipe away the grief of Edmund’s death, whether she thought Charlie needed a sibling or whether she wanted to have a child with her husband Joseph, no one will ever know. Bridget gave birth to a daughter, Anna Margrette Gary, on February 13, 1909.  I am sure it must have been a wonderful Valentine’s Day that year for the entire family.   The joy was short-lived however, due to the death of baby Anna almost 7 months later on September 6, 1909.  Poor baby Anna died of infantile atrophy and inanition due to gastroenteritis. 

At this point, you may be wondering when would Charlie and his family’s luck change.  The luck of the Irish was definitely not on their side! Is there more heartbreak in store for Charlie, Bridget and Joseph? Well, three years later, Bridget would give birth once again in the month of February – this time on February 29^th, 1912.   Joseph Thomas Gary was a leap year and day baby. I remember how Grandpa Charlie always made a big deal of Uncle Joe being born on February 29^th and how in 1964, Uncle Joe had only celebrated 13 birthdays when he was really 52 years old.  Uncle Joe is sitting in the front row in the center in the above photo.

After discovering the story of Grandpa Charlie’s childhood, I felt like I finally understood him.  He was always a tough guy with lots of wild stories, but now I understood that he was a SURVIVOR.  How does one carry on with their life when almost everyone you know dies around you?  Does it make you think that you must be special – that there is some specific reason why you are alive and your brothers and sister and father aren’t?