Sepia Saturday - Uncle Ed's Daughters 1917

These are three of Edward and Mattie (Dotson) Cleage's six children.  Alberta was born in 1908, baby Ola in  December of 1916 and Helen in 1910.  There was an older brother, Lawrence, who died at a year old.  Two more daughters, Beatrice and Juanita, were born later.  Edward was the only child of Lewis and Celia (Rice) Cleage to remain in Athens Tennessee.  His other four siblings moved first to Indianapolis, IN and then to Detroit, MI.  Edward suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and died at 46, when his youngest daughter was four years old. For more Sepia Saturday offerings.

Sepia Saturday - Naomi Tulane's Engagement Photograph 1920

 

Naomi Tulane Vincent.  Her engagement photograph. There is a matching one of her husband Ubert but, unfortunately, I do not have one.  Naomi was the daughter of Victor and Willie (Allen) Tulane.  She was married in Montgomery, Alabama in 1920 and then moved to New York as the wife of a society doctor.  For more Sepia Saturday offerings.

More About Annabell's Family

I spent yesterday looking for information on this family to go with the photographs and a few random remarks from my cousin Margaret about them.  Here is what I found.  Annabel was born in 1882, the second of the six children of Edward and Mary (Allen) McCall.  Her mother was a fine seamstress, sewing privately and her father was turn-key at the Montgomery jail.  

Annabel married earlier than her other siblings to a man by the last name of Martin.  They had one son in 1908 who they named Jefferson.  Unfortunately Mr. Martin soon died.  In 1910 she married his brother Edward Martin, a widower who brought his two young sons to the marriage, Edward, 3 and Estil, 2.  Edward was fifteen years older then Annebel.  He was a tailor who owned his own home and was his own boss.  Annabel was working for the United States Gov. at the post office in Nashville, TN.

"Annabel- her family + us" 

They had five more children together. Young Anna was born in Alabama in 1913.  Edward, Thelma and Caruso were born in  Muhlenberg County, Kentucky in Jan. 1915, March 1916 and October 1920.  Geneva was born in between Edward and Thelma, although there is barely enough space for her to fit in.  I did not find A birth record for her in Kentucky.

In 1920 we find the family in White City, Florida.  Not only is Edward going by Edwin but they have added an "s" to Martin and claim all of their parents were no longer born in Tennessee and Kentucky (him) or Alabama (her) they were born in Italy.  They are also listed as white instead of mulatto as they had been previously.  Edward is still tailoring from his owned home.  Annabel is not working outside the home although with 7 children under 13 she's working plenty inside it.  The census was taken in January and Caruso was not born until October, back in Kentucky.  Edward #3 is now listed as born in Aabama,  Geneva in Louisiana and Thelma in Arkansas.  Either one of the children got creative with the ennumerator, they were on the lam or they were passing and covering their tracks.  

The photograph taken above is from my grandmother Fannie's album.  She wrote on the top "Annabel her family + us".  Annabel and my grandmother were first cousins.  My aunt Mary V. is the little girl standing apart looking at the camera.  She was born in 1920.  My grandmother is holding Mershell, born in 1921 on her lap.  My mother was born in Feb. 1923 so I would put the year at 1922.  That must be Caruso leaning on his mother Annabel's knee.  The little girls are probably Geneva and Thelma.  That is my grandfather Mershell Graham leaning so cool in the back.

In 1930 Annabell and her family were still in Detroit.  The two oldest boys are no longer at home.  They would have been 22 and 23.  The rest of the children are living at home.  Annabel works as a seamstress at a store.  The three oldest children are  delivery people at a fur store.  I think this would be Annis Furs which used to be in Detroit right behind Hudson's.  My great grandmother and her daughter Daisy were seamstress' there for many years.  The Martin family is back in the Negro race.

This is one of my mystery photographs.  I showed it to my cousin Margaret, Annabel's niece.  I thought the curly headed child looked like her uncle Roscoe McCall.  Margaret said it was probably Annabel's children because they were "like that".  I'm not convinced but the littlest boy does look sort of like Caruso.  But this is definitely not Detroit.  I could find no marriage or death records for this family.  

More from Elections of yesteryear - 1965 Cleage for Council

Family  and church members accompanied my father as he signed up to run for City Council in Detroit, MI in 1965.  We all have on our Cleage for Council buttons.  That's him in the front with the bow tie.  I am looking melancholy over on the left.  My cousin Ernie is in the striped sweater.  Rev. Hill's ( assistant pastor) wife in the back with the hat.  My grandmother (Pearl Cleage) looking happily proud on the right.  This followed the Freedom Now Party loss in 1964 and the 3 + 1 campaign in 1963  and preceded the run for the 13th District congressional seat in 1966.

These campaigns were run as educational, not to win.  Not that that wouldn't have been a welcome surprise.  My family talked politics morning noon and night.  Not just talked, lived.  Two of my uncles started a printing business and for years the family and friends put out The Illustrated News, an eight sheet pink paper where they wrote  about the issues of the day, mostly local but as this was the time of the civil rights movement, bombs and demonstrations and riots, there was also some national news.  I remember riding in sound cars, passing out information at the polls, silk screening posters, leafleting.  The summer of 1966 I spent lots of time with my now husband campaigning. We capped it off by attending a victory party for Ken Cockrel, who didn't win. Those were the days my friend...

Wordless Wednesday - their own marching band

Edward and Annabell (McCall) Martin  with their children.  Edward Napier, Estil, Jefferson, Anna Marie, Edward Jr, Geneva, Thelma.  Caruso was not born yet.

Wordless Wednesday - Elections Past

 

My uncle Hugh Cleage standing by the sound car he rigged up for an election in the 1960's Detroit.

My sister, Aunt Gladys and I spent hours in that car  riding through our community.

"Good-bye Jim" by James Whitcomb Riley

I have been thinking about this poem often lately, don't know why.  I have the book that used to belong to my uncle Henry and before him, to my grandparents.  I remember reading it growing up.  My husband is called  Jim and I sometimes say  "Good bye Jim, take care of yourself!" when he's leaving.  I copied this from here, although I could have scanned it in.

"Good-bye Jim" 
by James Whitcomb Riley

Old man never had much to say-

'Ceptin' to Jim,-

And Jim was the wildest boy he had-

And the old man jes' wrapped up in him!

Never heerd him speak but once

Er twice in my life, and first time was

When the army broke out, and Jim he went,

The old man backin' him, fer three months;

And all 'at I heerd the old man say

Was, jes' as we turned to start away,

"Well, good-bye Jim:

Take keer of yourse'f!"

'Peered-like, he was more satisfied

Jes' lookin' at Jim

And likin' him all to hisse'f-like, see?

'Cause he was jes' wrapped up in him!

And over and over I mind the day

The old man come and stood round in the way

While we was drillin', a-watchin' Jim-

And down at the depot a-heerin' him say,

"Well, good-bye, Jim:

Take keer of yourse'f!"

Never was nothin' about the farm

Disting'ished Jim;

Neighbors all ust to wonder why

The old man 'peared wrapped up in him:

But when Cap. Biggler he writ back

'At Jim was the bravest boy we had

In the whole dern rigiment, white er black,

And his fightin' good as his farmin' bad-

'At he had led, with a bullet clean

Bored through his thigh, and carried the flag

Through the bloodiest battle you ever seen,-

The old man wound up a letter to him

"At Cap. Read to us, 'at said: "Tell Jim

Good-bye,

And take keer of hisse'f."

Jim come home jes' long enough

To take the whim

"At he'd like to go back in the calvery-

And the old man jes' wrapped up in him!

Jim 'lowed' at he 'd had sich luck afore,

Guessed he 'd tackle her three years more.

And the old man give him a colt he 'd raised,

And follered him over to Camp Ben Wade,

And laid around fer a week er so,

Watchin' Jim on dress-parade-

Tel finally he rid away,

And last we heerd was the old man say,-

"Well, good-bye, Jim:

Take keer of yourse'f!"

Tuk the papers, the old man did,

A-watchin' fer Jim-

Fully believin he 'd make his mark

Some way-jes' wrapped up in him!-

And many a time the word 'u'd' come

'At stirred him up like th e tap of a drum-

At Petersburg, fer instunce, where

Jim rid right into their cannons there,

And tuk 'em, and p'inted 'em t' other way,

And socked it home to the boys in gray,

As they scooted fer timber, and on and on-

Jim a lieutenant and one arm gone,

And the old man's words in his mind all day,-

"Well good-bye, Jim:

Take keer of yourse'f!"

Think of a private, now, perhaps,

We'll say like Jim,

'At 's clumb clean up to the shoulder-straps-

And the old man jes' wrapped up in him!

Think of him- with the war plum' through,

And the glorious old Red-White-and-Blue

A-laughin' the news down over Jim,

And the old man, bendin' over him-

The surgeon turnin' away with tears

'At hadn't leaked fer years and years,

As the hand of the dyin' boy clung to

His father's, the old voice in his ears,-

"Well, good-bye, Jim:

Take keer of yourse'f!"

THE END