The White Line, A Narrative — Four

This is Chapter Four of four. This is the concluding chapter that we are writing for the White family. They have been quite interesting, what with family legends at sea, modern reservoirs, a ship named Grumpus, Amish people, trees and vines…

This chapter will connect us to several other family lines which we have documented. These chapters are —

  • The Hoggarth Line, A Narrative — One and Two
  • The Peterman Line, A Narrative
  • The Bond Line, A Narrative — Seven

“Sadie, Sadie, Married Lady, That’s Me!”

Ralph Hiram White married “Sadie” i.e. Sarah Alice Elizabeth Hoggarth on August 23, 1924, in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. She was born December 18, 1898 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada — died September 8, 1989 in Kirtland, Lake County, Ohio. Sadie was the daughter of John Richard Hoggarth Jr. and Alice Lavina Nelson Weegar.

For more about Sadie’s life before she met Ralph, see, The Hoggarth Line, A Narrative — One and Two.

Sadie’s personality would best be described as vivacious. She had bright red hair which made her stand out when she entered a room. But the most distinctive characteristic she had was her voice: slightly higher pitched and sing-song like. Talking with her was a contest where you just tried to keep up (!) with her rapid delivery. Thanksgiving dinners were festive affairs, but the conversation always reached a loud fever pitch because Sadie always set the pace.

This is the first ancestor we’ve had who is named Sadie — and with great delight, we just couldn’t resist sharing this…

The film clip above is about 5 minutes and is from the movie Funny Girl, released in 1968. As sung by Barbra Streisand, the song “Sadie Sadie” is still memorable to this day. If the clip doesn’t load, it can viewed at this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h51msoRqLSo

Ralph and Sadie lived lives anchored in two locations which were not very far apart from each other, on the east side of Cleveland. Their first census finds them living on 2164 Stearns Road, near an area referenced as University Circle. This neighborhood is famous for being a somewhat posh cultural hub. It was then and is now, “a busy cultural hub with institutions like the Cleveland Natural History Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art, a modern mirrored structure with regularly changing exhibitions. Severance Hall hosts performances by the Cleveland Orchestra, and paths wind past roses and maple trees at the Cleveland Botanical Garden.” It is also the home of the famous Cleveland Museum of Art. (See footnotes).

However, trying to document this exact location sent us on a bit of an adventure, since urban renewal has altered the character of the section where they lived. In fact, it’s just about impossible to specifically map this, but we do know how to describe it.

2164 Stearns Road
1930 Census of Euclid, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Note that Ralph’s cousin Leo is living with them.

The postcard image below characterizes what Stearns Road was like then. It shows the Normal School, located about one block from their apartment building. Since we know the address they lived at, the Cleveland City Directory for 1930 led us to a man named Dewey M. Cupps (unrelated to our family), who lived at that location. Perhaps he lived there just before they did since the 1930 Directory material would have been gathered before the 1930 Census? Did they know each other? What was especially interesting for us was this anecdote we came across regarding Mr. Cupps and his family: “In 1930 he and his wife and their daughter lived in an apartment they were renting for $35 a month at 2164 Stearns Road in Cleveland, OH. They did have a radio. He worked as a motorman for a street railway.” Interestingly, that $35 rent would translate to about $625 in today’s money. That $625 would never cover the current cost of rent in that area in today’s market. (So it seems that, Mr. Cupps had a good deal then!)

The Cleveland City Directory for 1932 lists Sadie and Ralph by name and indicates that he works as a foreman at the Dairymen’s Milk Company in Cleveland. The 1930 census had listed him as an auto mechanic, so he must have changed jobs. He worked for the Dairymen’s Milk Company for many years.

Top image: Vintage postcard of Stearns Road, Cleveland, Ohio in the 1930s very close to their apartment building. Middle: Entries from the 1930 and 1932 Cleveland City Directory.
Bottom: The Dairymen’s Milk Company where Ralph White worked in 1932. (See footnotes).

The throes of the Great Depression occured during the 1930s. The following excerpt from History.com gives a brief description of the Great Depression suffered by many, (see footnotes).

The Great Depression was the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world, lasting from 1929 to 1939. It began after the stock market crash of October 1929, which sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors. Over the next several years, consumer spending and investment dropped, causing steep declines in industrial output and employment as failing companies laid off workers. By 1933, when the Great Depression reached its lowest point, some 15 million Americans were unemployed and nearly half the country’s banks had failed.” (1)

Euclid Was Once Vineyards

In the 1930s, the White family had moved to the nearby Cleveland Metro area known as Euclid. We have always thought of Euclid as a community given over to much small industrialization. However, 50 years earlier it was quite different. “In the 19th century, the area was largely agricultural. Over 200 acres were given over to vineyards in the 1880s.” (Case Western Reserve University)

“By the turn of the 20th century, winemaking was thriving in Ohio, with dozens of wineries located along the shores of Lake Erie and thousands of gallons of wine produced in this region. The area’s reputation for delicious wines increased vineyards throughout southern Lake Erie, which became famous as the “Lake Erie Grape Belt. Despite Prohibition, which effectively wiped-out winemaking in Ohio…” (The History of Wineries and Vineyards in Ohio)

Top image: Greater Cleveland, Ohio area map indicating the location of the city of Euclid.
Center: 1810 East 227th Street home where the Ralph White family lived for more than 25 years.
Bottom: That exact street location for the home. (See footnotes).
1810 East 227th Street
1940 Census of Euclid, Cuyahoga County, Ohio.

The 1940 Census finds Ralph and Sadie as parents with two young children, Alice Ada (9) and Wayne (3). Ralph is still working at the Dairymen’s Milk Company. By the time of the 1950 Census, their children are teenagers and daughter Alice is attending high school. Ralph is now working as a garage manager in an auto repair business, and Alice is working as a switchboard operator. (2)

1810 East 227th Street
1950 Census of Euclid, Cuyahoga County, Ohio.

What Was Life Like in Euclid During the 1940s and 1950s?

“During World War II, Euclid came to be home to the Tapco defense plant at 23555 Euclid Ave. With that plant came housing projects on East 200th Street and at Briardale Avenue. The post-World War II boom, and the prosperity that went with it, made Euclid an ideal place for families. Neighborhoods were like little villages, boasting their own community centers and activities. Euclid, which had been described as being “out in the country” 15 years earlier, was now a thriving suburb.

With Euclid’s railroad lines and location just beyond Cleveland’s borders, industry poured in. These industries paid taxes, and soon the Euclid Schools rivaled the esteemed Shaker Heights schools as the best in the area. With jobs plentiful and top-notch schools, the population kept on growing.” (Euclid Sun Journal article)

So many previous generations of White family men were farmers… It is interesting to note that Ralph Hiram White seems to have rejected that way of life. Perhaps he didn’t find that path fulfilling as a young man living in rural Middlefield township? His brother Forrest had similarly also decided to not be a farmer, but a postman instead.

Likely, Ralph was also conditioned by the era he was living in, having married in the “Roaring 1920s”. Sadie had always lived in either urban, or suburban environments, so perhaps this was the best way for them to have a happy and successful marriage. We know that people then considered Euclid was to be a desirable area to raise a family in. We speculate that they chose that community because it was a good functional midpoint for the both of them: her family was not too far away, his family was not too far away — and so, they located in an area that seemed to be a halfway point and raised their family.

Ralph died in May 1951 at the relatively young age of 55, from cardio vascular renal disease. His wife Sadie lived on for nearly forty more years, passing on in 1989.

Their Euclidian senior high school yearbook photos: Left, Alice Ada (White) Cameron, circa 1950 and Right, Wayne Ronald White, circa 1954.

Alice Ada White married Neil Paul Cameron circa 1957 and they lived in northeast Ohio their entire lives. They did not have children. (See footnotes). Wayne White became our brother-in-law when he married our sister Jo Ann Bond. Their story follows next. (3)

Oh That Matchmaker Marylou!

When Wayne and Jo Ann first met, it was a type of circular story, because it led from suburban Euclid back to rural Geauga County where the White family had long been established. As Ralph White’s son, Wayne had grown up in the somewhat more cosmopolitan suburbs of mid-century Cleveland, in Cuyahoga County. However, it seems that he, unlike his father Ralph, must have had an affection for rural township life. His cousin Marylou Portman (related through his uncle, Forrest White), was the person who initially introduced Wayne to Jo Ann. Jo Ann was a senior at Newbury High School, where she and Marylou were friends. They graduated in 1957.

Jo Ann and Marylou are shown in the 1957 Newbury High School yearbook.

Wayne Ronald White, born July 1, 1936, Cuyahoga County, Ohio — died [unknown date] 2020, in Chardon, Geauga County. He married [First] Jo Ann Bond, October 5, 1958, in Newbury, Geauga County — divorced November 16, 1977, also in Geauga County. She was born May 9, 1939, in Bedford, Cuyahoga County — died August 6, 2010, Chagrin Falls, Cuyahoga County. (All locations are in Ohio).

Together they had two children:

  • Mark Alan White Sr., born 1959
  • Wendy Carol (White) Wright, born 1961

This was quite common for their generation…
Wayne and Jo Ann were married for 19 years, having married in 1958, at a young age. Nonetheless, as these things sometimes go, they both evolved and eventually grew apart. They decided to separate, and their marriage ended in a dissolution in November 1977.

In 1978, Wayne married a second time
Wayne Ronald White married [Second] Sharon L. Stivers, September 16, 1978, Geauga County, Ohio. She was born February 3, 1943. They lived in Middlefield and Claridon townships in Geauga County. (4)

Top image: A mid-century map showing the southern portion of Geauga County, Ohio circa 1950. Middlefield > Burton > Newbury townships are highlighted to show the east to west drift of the successive generations of the White family. Bottom image: From the 1966 Ohio Department of Highways map, “See The Wonderful World Of Ohio!” indicating with the green star, where their home was in Newbury.

Through the 1960s and 1970s

Wayne and Jo Ann settled in Newbury township, Geauga County. Despite spending his youth in the Cleveland suburbs, he returned to the pattern of his forefathers —by being the third generation of his family to live in Geauga County. As explained in the maps above, the White family kept moving westward across Geauga County township-by-township, generation-to-generation: Middlefield > Burton > Newbury. This started with his Great-Great-Grandfather James White, who was one of the first settlers in the area, having arrived in the Western Reserve sometime before 1810.

This Ford Semi-truck is similar to one that Wayne would have driven during his employment with the Cleveland Freight Lines Company.

He preferred to do manual labor…
Similar to his father Ralph, Wayne literally steered toward jobs that were mechanical in nature. First he was partner at a small Texaco gas station in Newbury, then he went to work for Cleveland Freight Lines driving large semi-trucks as part of a delivery fleet. Lastly, he worked for the Andrews Moving and Storage Company helping others to relocate.

Their family life centered around their children…
Mark and Wendy benefited from many school clubs and extra curricular activities: camping, sports, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and 4-H Clubs, which highlighted the end of summer at the Great Geauga County Fair. This fair “is Ohio’s oldest continuous county fair and home to one of the oldest existing agricultural societies in America. It is held annually in Burton, Ohio every Labor Day weekend as a ‘grand finale’ to the summer. It has been around for more than 200 years…” and “Many of the buildings on the grounds used today date back to the nineteenth century, [and are] listed on the National Register of Historic Places.” (Wikipedia)

The Wayne and Jo Ann White family in the 1960s and ’70s.
Upper left: Wayne, Jo Ann, Mark, and Wendy attending the July 1967 Bond family summer reunion. Upper right: Wendy, Wayne, and Mark at home, circa December 1970. Lower right: Wayne and Mark at the 1969 Great Geauga County Fair in Burton, Ohio. Lower right: Wendy practicing baton twirling in the summer of 1969. (Family photographs).

After the end of the marriage, Jo Ann returned to school to gain the practical skills she needed for gainful employment: she became a travel agent and worked in that vocation for 20 years. In the world then (prior to the vast changes the internet brought to the travel industry), everyone was heavily dependent upon travel agents to coordinate all of their travel needs. As such, travel agents could receive “perks” as part of their employment —where, for example, a cruise ship company might offer a free cruise to an agent so that the travel agent could get to know their product. Thus, Jo Ann traveled extensively throughout the Caribbean, (and likely sold a lot of cruise packages).

Most interestingly, at the beginning of her career she went to the mainland of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in late 1979, or very early in 1980. At the time, this was rather remarkable. She went as part of a group of travel agents who were among the first travel agents to be in China in many, many decades. Their mission was to learn about the newly-opened culture and to promote travel there.

A bit of background…
From Wikipedia, “From February 21 to 28, 1972, United States President Richard Nixon visited the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the culmination of his administration’s efforts to establish relations with the PRC after years of U.S. diplomatic policy that favored the Republic of China in Taiwan. His visit was the first time a U.S. president had visited the PRC, and his arrival in Beijing ended 25 years of no communication or diplomatic ties between the two countries.” Further on, “Beginning in 1978 and 1979, Deng Xiaoping promoted the development of tourism for purposes of economic development. As tourism became an important means of obtaining foreign currency for the government, China emphasized its exotic qualities to international tourists.”

1979 Pan Am Airlines People’s Republic Of China World Tours VTG Travel Booklet. (Image courtesy of eBay.com).

Jo Ann recounted that the hotel facilities were not very comfortable, and we remember that the photographs showed many of the Chinese guides dressed in military fatigues while wearing red hats. Her photographs from that time are now lost. The world has changed very much since then, but the photos of her standing on the Great Wall of China were impressive and exciting. (5)

For more about Jo Ann’s life, see The Peterman Line, and A Narrative,
and The Bond Line, A Narrative — Seven.

Four Generations of Women Gathered In One Photo

In the mid-1960s, Four Generations of Women Gathered In One Photo, was taken. That original version featured the matriarch, Lulu (DeVoe) Gore, her daughter Marguerite (Gore) Bond, her daughter Jo Ann (Bond) White, and finally her daughter Wendy White. That was the first time ever that we had been able to document those relationships in one photograph. Alas, just like Jo Ann’s travel photos, any copies seem to be lost.

From a genealogical standpoint, it’s not often that we have a family photograph like this one.
Taken in 1996, it shows four generations of women who have contributed to the White family line. Starting with the eldest person who is seated on the right — our mother, Marguerite Lulu (Gore) Bond, standing in back — Jo Ann (Bond) White. Seated on the left, Wendy Carol (White) Wright, holding her daughter Emily Grace Wright. (Family photograph).

A little more than thirty years later (as pictured above), we again had the opportunity to document an update to Four Generations of Women Gathered In One Photo. This time, Lulu had long ago passed on, and Emily, Wendy’s daughter, was brand new.

Multiple generations of the White family have enriched our lives. It is because of the endurance and the sacrifices of these ancestors that we are here today — and we thank them for that privilege. (4)

Following are the footnotes for the Primary Source Materials, 
Notes, and Observations

“Sadie, Sadie, Married Lady, That’s Me!”

(1) — twenty one records

Ralph White
Birth – Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X695-C4C
Book page: 250, Digital page: 159/319, Entry #5526, left page.

Ralph White
in the Ohio, U.S., Births and Christenings Index, 1774-1973

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2541/records/3357416

Ralph H White
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/42393802/ralph-h-white
Notes: Additional material from the findagrave.com website —
BIRTH: 13 Sep 1895
DEATH: 11 May 1951 (aged 55)
Source: Cleveland Press, Reel #127
“White, Ralph H., 1810 E. 227th St., Euclid, husband of Sadie (nee Hoggarth), father of Alice Ada and Wayne Ronald of Euclid, brother of Blanche Hickox and Forest (deceased).” Name: White, Ralph H., Obituary date: May 12 1951

Ralph Hiram White 1951 death certificate.

Ralph Hiram White
Death – Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X6GK-Q7Q
Note: Death certificate

Ralph H White
in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60901/records/3666670?tid=&pid=&queryId=f648f269-693a-4a17-88f3-e67e507d53fb&_phsrc=RGK4&_phstart=successSource
Note: Confirms birth and death dates.

Sarah E. “Sadie” Hoggarth White
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/68174060/sarah_e_white
Notes: Additional material from the findagrave.com website —
BIRTH: 18 Dec 1898 Toronto, Toronto Municipality, Ontario, Canada
DEATH: 8 Sep 1989 (aged 90) Kirtland, Lake County, Ohio, USA
Date: 1989-09-09
Source: Plain Dealer, pg. 10 sec. D

Sarah E. White
in the U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/3693/records/66932914?tid=&pid=&queryId=049e9dc6-9371-4bba-ac96-7b36ef769db2&_phsrc=Nif12&_phstart=successSource
Notes: Birth, December 18, 1898.  Death, September 8, 1989

Sarah E Hoggarth
in the Cuyahoga County, Ohio, U.S., Marriage Records and Indexes, 1810-1973
1901-1925

Reel 076 > Marriage Records 1924 Jul – 1924 Dec
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1876/records/2726617
Book page: 235, Digital page: 235/1000, Last entry on the page.
Notes: Married on August 23, 1924.

Funny Girl | Sadie, Sadie, Married Lady | CineStream
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h51msoRqLSo
“A major critical and commercial success, Funny Girl became the highest-grossing film of 1968 in the United States and received eight Academy Award nominations. Streisand won the award for Best Actress for her performance, tying with Katharine Hepburn (The Lion in Winter)… Funny Girl is considered one of the greatest musical films ever. In 2016, Funny Girl was deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the United States Library of Congress, and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.”

Newly Renovated Office/Lab Opportunity in University Circle
https://images1.showcase.com/d2/mBtoR0y_n996Dofd0VmNcwhhWgYG6tdWL9LE1rFnQUo/document.pdf
Note: For this text, “…a busy cultural hub with institutions like the Cleveland Natural History Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art, a modern mirrored structure with regularly changing exhibitions. Severance Hall hosts performances by the Cleveland Orchestra, and paths wind past roses and maple trees at the Cleveland Botanical Garden.”

For the 2164 Stearns Road collage —
Cleveland Public Library Digital Gallery
Cleveland Normal School (postcard)
https://clevelandhistorical.org/index.php/files/show/4265
Cleveland City Directory 1930
https://cplorg.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16014coll29/id/41130
Book page: 1960, Digital page: 1952/2206
Note: The apartment is found here, for 2164 Stearns Road.
and
and for the Dewey Cupps reference:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18261196/dewey-marquis-cupps
“In 1930 he and his wife and their daughter lived in an apartment they were renting for $35 a month at 2164 Stearns Road in Cleveland, OH. They did have a radio. He worked as a motorman for a street railway.”
and
Cleveland Public Library Digital Gallery
Cleveland City Directory 1932
https://cplorg.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16014coll29/id/11603/rec/6
Book page: 1362, Digital page: 1363/1938
Note: They are listed by name.
Cleveland Memory.org
Dairymen’s Milk Company (plant)
https://clevelandmemory.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/press/id/6651/

Calculate the Value of $35 in 1930
https://www.dollartimes.com/inflation/inflation.php?amount=35&year=1930
Note: In 2024, $35 is worth about $625.

Sarah A White
in the 1930 United States Federal Census

Ohio > Cuyahoga > Cleveland (Districts 251-500) > District 0367
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6224/records/73830227?tid=&pid=&queryId=37ad860c-04ec-407a-b577-c8e0885aea44&_phsrc=Nif2&_phstart=successSource
Book page: 5A, Digital page: 7/40, Entries 47 through 49.
Note: Their home address is: 2164 Stearns Road; location not available to map.

For the 1810 East 227th Street collage —
David Rumsey Map Collection
Outline map of Cuyahoga Co. Ohio
By D. J. Lake, circa 1871
https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~359116~90125968

and
Cleveland Public Library Digital Gallery:
Plat Book of Cuyahoga County, Ohio Volume 5 (Hopkins, 1927-1943)
https://cplorg.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p4014coll24/id/4985/rec/9
Then click on this link:
Plate 23, Euclid Village
https://cplorg.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p4014coll24/id/5011/rec/9

History.com
Great Depression History
https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/great-depression-history

Euclid Was Once Vineyards

(2) — five records

Case Western Reserve University
Encyclopedia of Cleveland History
Euclid
https://case.edu/ech/articles/e/euclid
“In the 19th century, the area was largely agricultural. Over 200 acres were given over to vineyards in the 1880s.”

The History of Wineries and Vineyards in Ohio
by Sabah Drabu
https://cookingenie.com/content/blog/the-history-of-wineries-and-vineyards/

Sarah White
in the 1940 United States Federal Census

Ohio > Cuyahoga > Euclid >18-128
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2442/records/30166899?tid=&pid=&queryId=83b8a363-f27a-420c-9311-d006f513f017&_phsrc=Nif4&_phstart=successSource
Book page: 1B, Digital page: 2/36, Entries 58 through 61.

Ralph Hiram White World War 2 draft registration card

Mrs Sarah Elizabeth White [for husband Ralph]
in the U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1002/records/120585725?tid=&pid=&queryId=6c95d513-928b-4847-a09b-30c93a011a36&_phsrc=Nif10&_phstart=successSource

Sadie White
in the 1950 United States Federal Census

Ohio > Cuyahoga > Euclid >18-144
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62308/records/209660545?tid=&pid=&queryId=7458b34d-ee15-4201-924a-7b9230ac8945&_phsrc=Nif6&_phstart=successSource
Book page: 87, Digital page: 92/96, Entries 3 through 6.

What Was Life Like in Euclid During the 1940s and 1950s?

(3) — eight records

Smith’s Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge, Route 283, Euclid, Ohio [postcard]
https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:7p88ck46k

Euclid Sun Journal Had Front Seat to Euclid History
https://www.cleveland.com/euclidsunjournal/2009/07/euclid_sun_journal_had_front_s.html

Euclidian ((Euclid High School yearbook, 1950)
Euclid Senior High School 
Alice White
https://archive.org/details/euclidian1950unse/page/28/mode/2up
Book page: 29, Digital page: 628/188, Right page, lower right corner.

Euclidian (Euclid High School yearbook, 1954)
Euclid High School
Wayne White
https://archive.org/details/euclidian1954unse/page/62/mode/2up
Book page: 62, Digital page: 62/218, Right page, upper right corner.

Alice Ada White Cameron
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/64105413/alice-ada-cameron?_gl=1*1phbsey*_gcl_au*NTk4MzA1ODk2LjE3MzM5MzU2MjE.*_ga*MTg0ODQyNTE3Ny4xNzMzOTM1NjIx*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MWU3OTQyNzItNWU3OS00NmVlLTgxOWEtZDE2YmY0MTc4MWVjLjIuMS4xNzMzOTQ1ODM0LjQyLjAuMA..*_ga_LMK6K2LSJH*MWU3OTQyNzItNWU3OS00NmVlLTgxOWEtZDE2YmY0MTc4MWVjLjIuMS4xNzMzOTQ1ODM0LjAuMC4w
Notes: Additional material from the findagrave.com website —
BIRTH: 11 Feb 1931 Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA
DEATH: 4 May 2000 (aged 69) Garrettsville, Portage County, Ohio, USA
and
Alice Ada Cameron
in the U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60525/records/23516688

Alice Ada Cameron
in the Ohio, U.S., Death Records, 1908-1932, 1938-2022

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/5763/records/45462?tid=856575&pid=6903443108&ssrc=pt

Neilan Paul Cameron obituary.
(He was the spouse of Alice Ada White).

Oh That Matchmaker Marylou!

(4) — sixteen records

Jo Ann Bond
in the U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-2016

Ohio > Newbury > Newbury High School > 1957
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1265/records/410027197
Note: For Home Economics class photograph.

Wayne White
in the Ohio, U.S., Birth Index, 1908-2003

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/3146/records/2662040?tid=&pid=&queryId=feab2f32-1670-470c-bd18-a363ff238cb2&_phsrc=LGc3&_phstart=successSource

Wayne White
in the Ohio, U.S., Death Records, 1908-1932, 1938-2022

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/5763/records/10516626

Jo Ann Bond
in the U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-2016

Ohio > Newbury > Newbury High School > 1957
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1265/records/410026838?tid=&pid=&queryId=c818fe2f-0e0e-4e0d-a223-9586cfe7c310&_phsrc=LGc14&_phstart=successSource
Note: For her Senior Class graduation photo.

The following four documents are related to the adoption of Jo Ann Peterman Bond White by Dean Phillip Bond in 1948. The original documents were lost and in 1985, duplicate documents were sourced.

June 1985, Letter from Daniel Earl Bond to Clarence Arthur Peterman, Jr. requesting cooperation in providing evidence for adoption(s) of Jo Ann (Peterman) Bond by Dean Phillip Bond. (Family document).
1985 Telephone notes from Daniel Earl Bond’s correspondence with Clarence Arthur Peterman, Jr. Note: “She said she thinks he decided not to execute the form.”
Authorization form for adoption document duplicate.
Jo Ann Bond adoption form (duplicate).

Jo Ann (Bond) White in the Ohio, U.S., Death Records,
1908-1932, 1938-2018

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/8822354:5763

Wayne R. White
in the U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-current

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62116/records/500861666?tid=&pid=&queryId=811f5bdd-b4e7-41f0-a668-8a082aa0ab49&_phsrc=LGc5&_phstart=successSource
Note: For 1958 marriage to Jo Ann Bond.

Wayne White
in the Ohio, U.S., Divorce Abstracts, 1962-1963, 1967-1971, 1973-2007

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2026/records/3176060
Note: For 1977 marriage dissolution with Jo Ann White.

Mark White
in the Ohio, U.S., Birth Index, 1908-2003

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/3146/records/7022981?tid=&pid=&queryId=a59f6c5c-a869-4c40-8023-82e483b17e53&_phsrc=zLu2&_phstart=successSource
Note: Certificate #1959093136

Wendy White
in the Ohio, U.S., Birth Index, 1908-2003

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/3146/records/7834248?tid=&pid=&queryId=12a00a98-433b-4075-8ff6-dc1ec0a99c9c&_phsrc=zLu5&_phstart=successSource
Note: Certificate #1961098459

Wayne R White
in the Ohio, U.S., Marriage Abstracts, 1970, 1972-2007

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2025/records/794538?tid=&pid=&queryId=42e537cf-aa32-4836-8f72-c1a0b592aef3&_phsrc=LGc2&_phstart=successSource
Note: Marriage 1978 marriage to Sharon L. Stivers.

The National Archives
General Highway Map of Geauga County, Ohio
File:1950 Census Enumeration District Maps – Ohio (OH) – Geauga County – Geauga County – ED 28-1 to 28 – NARA – 26128376.jpg

See The Wonderful World Of Ohio!
1966, Ohio Department of Highways
https://www.oldmapsonline.org/en/Geauga_County,_Ohio?gid=2959dca8-9d79-5d71-914b-651274cf549a#position=9.0073/41.471/-81.263&year=1966

Through the 1960s and 1970s

(5) — five records

1961 Ford HD-1000 Diesel Tractor Truck
https://en.wheelsage.org/ford/h-series_trucks/ford_hd-1000_diesel_tractor_truck

Geauga County Fair https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geauga_County_Fair#:~:text=6%20External%20links-,History,Chardon%2C%20Ohio%20on%20October%2023.

1972 visit by Richard Nixon to China
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_visit_by_Richard_Nixon_to_China

Tourism in China
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_China

1979 Pan Am Airlines People’s Republic Of China World Tours VTG Travel Booklet
https://www.ebay.com.sg/itm/126864589042


The DeVoe Line, A Narrative — Eleven

This is Chapter Eleven of eleven, being the last chapter of our narrative about the DeVoe Line. We hope that you have enjoyed following along, for this family line was sincerely, the most difficult to have researched due to certain enigmatic records… However, as we move toward the end of the 20th century, life still engages the DeVoe(s), as it has for many centuries.

Pressed Blossoms

Both of our grandmothers long out-lived our grandfathers. As such, neither of us knew our grandfathers at all. Susan knew both of our grandmothers: Mary Adele (McCall) Bond and Lulu Mae (DeVoe) Gore. However, Grandma Mary died when I was quite young, so Grandma Lulu was really the only grandmother I ever knew. She lived nearby and was a strong influence on our family.

More than fifty years ago she made me a birthday card with a few pressed blossoms from her garden and I recently found it tucked-in amongst some family photographs I was reviewing for this history. She was an avid gardener and the perfect simplicity of this card still means much to me.

— Thomas, with Susan

Most Signed Their Name With an “X”

Our ancestors are a mixed lot when it came to their educations. If they had money, they likely had the “3 R’s” of education: ‘reading, ‘riting, ‘rithmatic. These educations seemed to be offered to our male relatives first, then second to the female relatives. If our ancestors didn’t have money, some of them still could sign their name.

If they were poor, generally speaking, education was an unobtainable luxury. We have seen so many documents where they simply signed their names with an “X” which was accepted at that time. This made them dependent upon the courtesy of strangers, because witnesses were required to vouch for the signee.

Observation: Coming to understand this has helped explain why we have records for some of our ancestors that are inconsistent, with weird name spellings, incorrect locations, etc. It became apparent that many of our relatives couldn’t comprehend the words, but they knew that they were signing a contract, a deed, or a will...

The Class of ’99

Having an education became an increasingly important need as the world became more modern. Our Grandmother Lulu was the first person ever in her family, who as a young woman, to have graduated from high school — in the Chagrin Falls, Ohio, high school Class of 1899. (Then known as the Union School on Philomethian Street). None of her siblings accomplished this.

What is remarkable is this — that especially in that era, there were many people who thought it wasn’t necessary for a woman to be educated. Despite that prejudice, we believe that she was likely encouraged by her grandfather Peter A. DeVoe, who was a man who valued education. She became the beneficiary of his guidance, support, and encouragement throughout her youth. Most certainly, she always spoke fondly, almost reverently, about him.

The Union School, built in 1885, was the home of the High School until 1914. Photograph courtesy of cfhs.me — Discover Chagrin Falls History.

Coming from a poor family and achieving this feat was rather astonishing and must have taken tremendous effort on her part. To accomplish this, she moved away from her parents in Russell township, and lived as a household servant for a family in Chagrin Falls while attending school.

After her high school graduation, she went through teacher training and at the very beginning of the 20th century, she worked as a schoolteacher at different one-room schoolhouses in the area. One of the schools is located in Chester township, in Geauga County, and was then known as District School No. 2, or also, as the Scotland School. It still stands today and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (1)

The former Chester Township District School No. 2 was also known as Scotland School.  Originally built in 1847, it was used as a one-room schoolhouse until 1926, when it closed.

Some Things Change, and Then… Some Things Transform

In the present day, the Village of Chagrin Falls in Ohio, is considered to be an upscale place to live with many nice homes, beautiful scenery, good schools… Typical town boosters might describe it enthusiastically, like this: “Chagrin Falls, Ohio, nestled in the picturesque Cuyahoga County, offers a charming and idyllic lifestyle that beckons residents seeking tranquility, beauty, and a strong sense of community.”

When our grandparents were alive, they certainly would have been much more circumspect in their description of the area. In their era, Chagrin Falls was a nice, but small working-class hamlet, with a village center remarkable for its triangular shape, and a bent wood bandstand where they would waltz to music. We can recall our mother Marguerite describing that many of the houses in her 1920s childhood, really needed painting, — and this was before the Great Depression.

Images of the town of Chagrin Falls, Ohio from the 1870s through the 1910s. Top row, left to right: The High Falls, after which the town is named. Right: The Chagrin Falls park band which performed in the Triangle Park gazebo. Middle center image: Map of the town from the 1892 Cuyahoga County Atlas. Bottom row, left: Main Street. Center: The Atlas cover sheet. Right: Triangle Park in the 1870s before the gazebo was built.

Our grandparents would put Marguerite in the Model T and go to the village for a haircut about once a month, while they also took care of other errands. Mom had an uncle on her father’s side who gave haircuts, (maybe Uncle Forest?) and also another uncle on her mother’s side (Uncle Frank) who did the same. It turns out that Uncle Frank was the craftier of the two, because he always gave her a lollipop when her haircut was done. Apparently it was always a drama to get her to go and see Uncle Forest, and who could blame a kid when lollipops were involved?

Marguerite Lulu (Gore) Bond, circa 1922. (Family photograph).

Knowing our mother as we did, in our mind’s eye, it seems likely she got bored hanging out at the farm, and longed for a bit more excitement in her life. When she was a young teenager, she worked for a time at Speice’s Drug Store as a soda-fountain jerk. The shop was located near the center of the Chagrin Falls village, about as far away from the farm as she could get in those days. It was the first job she had in a long career associated with food.

From Wikipedia: Soda jerk… is an American term used to refer to a person… who would operate the soda fountain in a drugstore, preparing and serving soda [we actually said soda-pop] drinks and ice cream sodas. The drinks were made by mixing flavored syrup, carbonated water, and occasionally malt powder over either ice or a few scoops of ice cream. The drink would then be served in a tall glass with a long-handled spoon, most commonly known as a “soda spoon”, and drinking straws.”

Likely thinking she was a bit older than she actually was, we’re certain that Mom pictured her career as a soda fountain jerk with starry eyes… After all, the Depression was in full swing and after the local movie theater let out, all the cool kids went to the soda fountain. Maybe she thought her new career would be like this scene from a Hollywood movie?

To this day, as far as we know, Chagrin Falls, Ohio,
has never had palm trees, nor pith helmets.

Our mother led an interesting life. To see more about her, here are some of the other narratives in which she is written about. (Please see The Gore Line, A Narrative — Eight, The Peterman Line, A Narrative, and The Bond Line, A Narrative — Seven). (2)

Lulu Mae DeVoe Becomes Mrs. Harley Gore

It is through Lulu that we connect to the Mayflower through two different family lines. We will be writing about this lineage when we document the Warner line.

Harley William Gore and Lulu Mae (DeVoe) Gore
around the time of their wedding in 1905. (Family photographs).

In 1905, Lulu left her teaching career behind and married Harley William Gore becoming both a mother and a farmer’s wife. We believe that they met at a dance, or perhaps a picnic, and were introduced by mutual friends or family. At that time, it was a typical way to meet a young man during the Edwardian era. Social relationships were strictly defined by an unwritten set of rules. Young women had chaperones and one didn’t date, one was courted… All these years later, we’ve lost the thread of details about their courtship, but Grandmother used to mention dances in Triangle Park, in Chagrin Falls, and picnics at Pioneer Park at Punderson Lake in Newbury township.

Harley William Gore and Lulu Mae Devoe marriage application, 1905.

They had three children, all born in Russell township, Geauga County, Ohio:

  • Leland Harley Gore, born September 30, 1906 — died October 1, 1993
  • Elwyn Clinton Gore, born May 12, 1909 — died February 13, 1935
  • Marguerite Lulu (Gore) Peterman Bond,
    born June 28, 1920 — died March 4, 1999 (We are descended from Marguerite).

Some material for this aspect of our family narratives is covered in other narratives. We have written quite a bit about their life together, their children, and their extended family. (Please see The Gore Line, A Narrative — Eight).

We know that Grandma Gore was born at home and that there was no birth certificate. However, at some point in her life she needed one (perhaps to collect Social Security?) and the family had to “locate” two very ancient ladies that testified that she was born when and where she was… (3)

Parlor Games

For most people, television didn’t become a viable option for home entertainment until the middle of the 1950s. In prior decades, our ancestors had to be creative in how they entertained themselves in their limited leisure time. First, with the advent of the Edison phonograph, and then the development of home radios, suddenly there were many more options.

The Golden Age of Radio
As a result, its popularity grew rapidly in the late 1920s and early 1930s, and by 1934, 60 percent of the nation’s households had radios. One and a half million cars were also equipped with them. The 1930s were the Golden Age of radio.

The History of the Radio Industry in the United States to 1940
Carole E. Scott, State University of West Georgia

For our ancestors who were of an older age by the time the mid-century period came along, some of their traditional entertainment choices prevailed. One such choice was card games — especially Gin Rummy, Pinochle, and Canasta!

Most people today have probably not heard of Canasta, but it was extremely popular in the late 1940s through the 1950s. Our Grandmother, along with our Uncle George, our Aunts, and their respective spouses, (and other friends) would gather at each other’s homes for potluck Canasta parties. Up to ten tables would be arranged, and the games began. Everyone would compete, shift to different players at other tables, and eventually someone would win a prize. We could be a bit wistful and say times were simpler then — and in some aspects they were, but in other ways, not so much — it was just another era. (4)

One Day in 1966, the Cleveland Press Came to Call

Lulu Gore in her flower garden in July 1966, as published in the following article Gifted Gardener Is Mrs. Lulu Gore, from the Cleveland Press, July 1966. (Family photograph).
Gifted Gardener Is Mrs. Lulu Gore, Published in the Cleveland Press, July 1966.
Garden photographs courtesy of finegardening.com.

Being Rooted In One Place

Lulu had deep devotion to her family, and her farm, but her passion was her ardent love of gardening, as the above article from the Cleveland Press newspaper highlights. We recall how the long rows of peony plants which lined her driveway, how the ancient maple trees surrounding the house provided shade in the hot summers, the way that boughs of lilacs perfumed the Spring air… We were allowed to play in these gardens, but there was an ever-present warning to be careful, stay on the garden paths, and not damage the plants… (in other words, we needed to be respectful of her hard work).

Her extended family filled the surrounding communities and existed in many ways like our Irish ancestors did with their kith, kin, and clan sensibilities. This gives us pause to think that perhaps this is what it was like for many of our European ancestors in their communities before they immigrated first to the British Colonies in America, then to the United States. Communities gather together for a few generations and then they change, with some leaving and establishing their own respective “center”.

For those of us who have moved around much as adults, it sometimes feels a bit constraining to think about living in one place for a very long time, but this is what Lulu did. She planted deep roots in her community and lived her entire life like the progressive rings from one of her grand maple trees — all within a five mile radius of where she was born.

“A single great tree can make a kind of garden, an entirely new place on the land, and in my mind I was already visiting the place my maple made, resting in its shade.

I’d decided on a maple because I’ve always liked the kind of light and air an old one seems to sponsor around itself. Maples suggest haven. They always look comfortable next to houses, in summer gathering the cool air under their low-hanging boughs and ushering it toward open windows.

Now I knew this wouldn’t happen overnight, probably not even
in my lifetime, but wasn’t that precisely the point?
To embark on a project that would outlast me, to plant a tree whose crown would shade not me, but my children or, more likely, the children of strangers?

Tree planting is always a utopian enterprise, it seems to me,
a wager on a future the planter doesn’t necessarily expect to witness.”

Michael Pollan, “Putting Down Roots
The New York Times Magazine, May 6, 1990

Lulu Mae (Devoe) Gore died four days before she would have been 93 years old. She is buried in Riverview Cemetery in Russell, Ohio next to her husband Harley William Gore, amidst many generations of other extended family members. (For more on their lives together, please see the chapter, The Gore Line, A Narrative —Eight).

She had once written a poem, titled…

When I Quit

When I quit this mortal shore
And mosey ’round this earth no more,
Don’t weep, don’t sigh, don’t grieve, don’t sob
I may have struck a better job.

Don’t go and buy a large bouquet
For which you’ll find it hard to pay.
Don’t hang ’round me looking blue,
I may be better off than you!

Don’t tell folks I was a Saint
Or anything you know I ain’t.
If you have stuff like that to spread
Please hand it out before I’m dead.

If you have roses, bless your soul.
Just pin one on my button hole.
But do it while I’m at my best
Instead of when I’m safe at rest.

She was the person in our family who helped us gain an appreciation for genealogical research. One day she looked off into the middle distance and made a comment about her family having had picnics at cemeteries. That sounded (!) completely odd to us, but it turns out it was once a thing. From Atlas Obscura: “During the 19th century, and especially in its later years, snacking in cemeteries happened across the United States. It wasn’t just apple-munching alongside the winding avenues of graveyards. Since many municipalities still lacked proper recreational areas, many people had full-blown picnics in their local cemeteries. The tombstone-laden fields were the closest things, then, to modern-day public parks.”

Lulu’s handwritten genealogy notes as she diagrammed her family relationships. (Family epherma).

Furthermore, “One of the reasons why eating in cemeteries become a “fad,” as some reporters called it, was that epidemics were raging across the country: Yellow fever and cholera flourished, children passed away before turning 10, women died during childbirth. Death was a constant visitor for many families, and in cemeteries, people could “talk” and break bread with family and friends, both living and deceased.”

One wonders if perhaps in their collective afterlife… our family members are still enjoying each other’s company breaking bread at family picnics? (5)

Following are the footnotes for the Primary Source Materials,
Notes, and Observations

The Class of ’99

(1) — two records

Flickr.com
One-room school house
Photograph by Steve Mather
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mathersteve/29573949615
Note: “Circa-1900, one-room school house. Wood & cast iron desks with inkwells. Tall stool and cone-shaped dunce cap. Teacher’s wooden desk with oil lamp. American flag. Slate chalk board. Framed photos of of American Presidents…”

The National Register of Historic Places
Ohio — Geauga County
Chester Township District School No. 2 (added 1982 – – #82001463)
https://nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/oh/geauga/state.html

Some Things Change, and Then… Some Things Transform

(2) — seven records

Benefits of Living in Chagrin Falls, OH
https://www.morsemoving.com/benefits-of-living-in-chagrin-falls-oh/#:~:text=Chagrin%20Falls%2C%20Ohio%2C%20nestled%20in,town%20has%20much%20to%20offer.

Discover Chagrin Falls History
Landmarks > High Falls
https://cfhs.me/?c=landmarks&t=high-falls
Schools, Churches, Libraries > Union School
https://cfhs.me/?c=schools-churches-libraries&t=union-school
Landmarks > Bandstand
https://cfhs.me/?c=landmarks&t=bandstand
Business > Druggists
https://cfhs.me/?c=business&t=druggists
Note: For historical photographs from this area.

Part 1. Chagrin Falls (1892 atlas map)
by George F. Cram, J. Q. A. Bennett, and J. H. Beers
https://archive.org/details/dr_part-1-chagrin-falls-12048097
Note: “This atlas gives a detailed cartographic record of the City of Cleveland, Ohio, and the surrounding areas in Cuyahoga County in 1892. 52 maps show Cleveland. Cram was known mostly for his world atlases and occasional regional atlases. This city and county atlas may be one of the few that he published.”

Soda Jerk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soda_jerk

Lulu Mae DeVoe Becomes Mrs. Harley Gore

(3) — two records

A Mini-History of Newbury
Marian Gould Bottger and the Newbury Bicentennial Committee, 1976
https://www.newburyohio.com/Newbury_MiniHistory.pdf

H.w. Gore
Marriage – Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XDK5-YMD
Book page: 77, Digital page: 67/226. Right page, entry 1.

Parlor Games

(4) — two records

The History of the Radio Industry in the United States to 1940
Carole E. Scott, State University of West Georgia
https://eh.net/encyclopedia/the-history-of-the-radio-industry-in-the-united-states-to-1940/#:~:text=The Golden Age of Radio&text=As a result, its popularity,the Golden Age of radio.

Canasta
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canasta
Whitman Canasta Playing Cards Set with Box Red Roses MCM Vintage Double Deck
Note: Canasta playing cars image courtesy of eBay.com.

One Day in 1966, the Cleveland Press Came to Call
and Being Rooted In One Place

(5) — ten records

The article about our Grandmother’s floral garden was published in July 1966 in the Cleveland Press newspaper, which ceased publishing in 1982.

Cleveland Press
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_Press

Fine Gardening.com
Revisiting an Ohio Garden photographs
https://www.finegardening.com/article/revisiting-an-ohio-garden
and
Mike and Brenda’s Ohio Garden
https://www.finegardening.com/article/mike-and-brendas-ohio-garden
Note: Due to the fact that no photographs survive of Lulu Gore’s expansive mid-century flower gardens, these contemporary photographs are (only) representative due to their similarity.

“Settle somewhere, become established, as in We’ve put down roots here and don’t want to move away. This metaphoric expression, first recorded in 1921, likens the rooting of a plant to human settlement”.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/put-down-roots#

Putting Down Roots
Essay by Michael Pollan
The New York Times Magazine, May 6, 1990
https://michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/putting-down-roots/

Lulu Mae Gore April 1975 death notice..

Lulu M Gore
in the Ohio, U.S., Death Records, 1908-1932, 1938-2018

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/817894:5763?tid=&pid=&queryId=8aceffb0-6b99-4026-88c8-c5331138b985&_phsrc=rxA1&_phstart=successSource

Lulu Gore
in the U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/61357205:60525

Lulu DeVoe Gore
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/98032392/lulu-gore

Atlas Obscura
Remembering When Americans Picnicked in Cemeteries
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/picnic-in-cemeteries-america

A historic image of the Woodland Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio.
(Image courtesy of Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum, via Atlas Obscura).