Tag: Edith Mae Roberts McMurray Luck

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Edward A. McMurray, Jr. and April 12, 1924-A Very Special Day, Part 1

This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series Edward A. McMurray, Jr. and April 12, 1924-A Very Special Day

Edward A. McMurray, Jr., with his mother, Edith M. Roberts McMurray, possibly about 1930. [Click to enlarge.]
McMURRAY Family (Click for Family Tree)

On this day, April 12th, in the year 1924 (98 years ago!), Edward Arthur McMurray, Jr. arrived in this world at 2am at Skiff Memorial Hospital. Skiff is a small hospital in the small town of Newton, Iowa, the county seat of the very rural Jasper County, just 30 miles east of Des Moines, the state capitol.

Ed’s mother, Edith Mae (Roberts) McMurray (1899-1982) had taken the train back to Newton before her due date, as she wanted to give birth in the town near where she grew up, and where family from both sides were living. Edith had moved to St. Louis, Missouri after she and her husband, Edward A. McMurray, Sr. (1900-1992), graduated from the State University of Iowa and he was accepted to St. Louis University Medical School. The move to St. Louis would have been exciting for an Iowa farm girl, but she surely missed her family greatly, as she was so close to her parents and siblings, and her beloved mother had passed away just two months after they married in 1921, while they were still in college. We don’t know if the new father was able to travel with Edith to Iowa, due to the overwhelming schedule of a medical student, but if not, Edward surely would have hopped on the train as soon as he was able. Edward Jr. may have made the getaway more convenient, since he was born on a Saturday. (Dr. McMurray would graduate the next year, 1925.)

Baby Edward A. McMurray, Jr., 1924. [Click to enlarge.]
Edward A. McMurray, Jr., probably mid-1924. [Click to enlarge.]
Here is the proud papa with his first son:

Edward A. McMurray, Sr., holding his first child, Edward A. McMurray, Jr. in 1924. Image and caption from Ed Jr.’s photo album, put together around 1948, before he got married. [Click to enlarge.]
And the proud mama:

Edith Roberts McMurray with her dear son Edward A. McMurray, Jr., 1924. Image and caption from Ed Jr.’s photo album, put together around 1948 before he got married. [Click to enlarge.]
Edward A. McMurray, Jr., with his mother Edith Roberts McMurray, 1924. Image and caption from Ed Jr.’s photo album, put together around 1948 before he got married. [Click to enlarge.]
Not only were Edith and Edward Sr. excited about the new baby, but so was the rest of the family. The visiting was about to commence.

To be continued…

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. Family treasure chest of photos, letters, ephemera, etc.
  2. Wonderful biographies written by Edith M. Roberts McMurray Luck about the  people she knew and loved.

“The Saga of Ed McMurray, Family and Friends,” a scrapbook put together by Ed around 1948 before he got married. Perhaps it was partially a scorecard for his soon-to-be-wife, Mary T. HELBLING, to learn all his family members? The captions are just adorable, as are the pictures he chose. It is one of those few things that give a little insight into who he was.

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Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted. 
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Edith M. Roberts and the Prairie City High School Class of 1918

1918 Prairie City High School Graduating Class, Prairie City, Jasper County, Iowa. Edith M. Roberts is standing 2nd from left. (Click to enlarge.)

Roberts Family (Click for Family Tree)

The year was 1918, and the world was changing rapidly. The students in the photo above were born 1899-1900, the turn of a century that went from candles to gas lights for reading and doing homework, to electricity that eventually would power the lighting in their rural Iowa homes, and later computers. The US Post Office started the world’s first air mail delivery that year, with time zones and daylight savings time becoming official. World War I would finally end that November after four years of global bloodshed, but the first “Spanish flu” case was seen in nearby Kansas- that epidemic would take even more lives, a large number of them young people. Mechanization on the farm was improving although farming was still a hard and time-consuming job- note that there is only one male student in the graduating class. Other young men had likely dropped out of school by the 8th grade or even before, as they were needed on the farm or in the family business, thinking further schooling would not prepare them any better for the career they had ahead of them. Some of the young men might even have been in France or somewhere else in Europe, fighting in World War I.

Edith Roberts (later McMurray, then Luck), cropped from 1918 Prairie City High School Graduating Class, Prairie City, Jasper County, Iowa. (Click to enlarge.)

Edith Roberts (later McMurray, then Luck) is the student standing second from the left. Her parents, George Anthony Roberts, Sr. (1861-1939) and Ella “Ellie” Viola (Daniel) Roberts (1866-1922), and her siblings, George A. Roberts, Jr. (1889-1965) and Ethel Gay Roberts (later Robison) (1891-1969) lived on the family farm in Mound Prairie Township in Jasper County. Edith paternal grandparents were living at 108 N. Sherman in Prairie City while she was in high school. Perhaps she stopped by to see them after her classes some days, or took them some of the fruits and vegetables she, Ethel, and their mother had canned, or the delicious butter that Ellie made and sold in the local stores. Her grandmother, Elizabeth Ann (Murrell) Roberts died in 1917, and her grandfather John Roberts (1832-1922) may have moved in with his son William Edward Roberts who lived with his family on Jefferson Street by the time Edith graduated.

They all would have received one of these beautiful envelopes in May of 1918:

Envelope from graduation announcement, 1918 Prairie City High School Graduating Class, Prairie City, Jasper County, Iowa. (Click to enlarge.)

Within would be the announcement of Edith’s graduation, along with the names of her classmates:

1918 Prairie City High School Graduating Class announcement with list of graduates, Prairie City, Jasper County, Iowa. (Click to enlarge.)

Commencement exercises would take place at the Opera House in Prairie City on Friday, May 24th, 1918, at 8pm. Those who would walk across the stage and receive their hard-earned diploma were:

Ruth V. Schakel Bessie M. Krohn
Edith M. Roberts Blanche A. Peery
Lora L Wooddell Marjorie N. Graham
Beth M. Anderson Berlin P. Ballagh
Lillian C. Pannenbacker

It would be interesting to follow up and learn more about the later lives of Edith’s classmates. As for Edith, she attended the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. She began with interest in a degree in music and teaching, however graduated in June of 1923 with a B. A. in Zoology- very unusual for a woman in those years! She did take courses in the science of education and psychology, so also received a certificate from the School of Education so that she could teach. She valued education her whole life, enjoying any chance to learn and imparting that love to her son and grandchildren.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. Family treasure chest of photos and ephemera.
  2. There are ten persons in the class photo, but only nine are listed as graduating. Perhaps one of the women is the teacher for the class? The reverse of the photo does not list names.

 

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Original content copyright 2013-2021 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Edith M. (Roberts) [McMurray] Luck

Edith M. Roberts, circa 1920. Iowa City, Iowa.

Roberts Family (Click for Family Tree)

Our last post featured a lovely portrait of Edith Mae Roberts (later [McMurray] Luck), and this image is most likely from the same sitting.

The previously published post image is probably the same as the picture sitting on the family piano with George A. Roberts, Edith’s father, sitting in his rocker in their beautiful home. (See “George Anthony Roberts, Sr. of Jasper County, Iowa“)

Thankfully the folder from this portrait has been preserved:

Folder of pictures of Edith M. Roberts, circa 1920. Iowa City, Iowa.

How lucky to have a folder with embossing telling us the name and place of the photo studio! We know that Newberg Studio was doing business in Iowa City, Iowa, as early as 1916 and as late as 1922, though they probably were in business both before and after these dates. (More research would give more accurate dates.) Edith was part of the class of 1918 at Prairie City High School in Jasper County, Iowa, and probably graduated in May or June. She attended the University of Iowa, likely starting in September of 1918. In these photos, she looks more mature than her high school graduating class picture. (That will be posted soon.) So these photos could have been taken when she was in college, possibly as she was joining a sorority or the literary society.

Alternatively, they could have been photos taken around the time of her wedding to Edward A. McMurray (Sr.), which took place on 25 Nov 1921.

The portraits could instead have been graduation pictures- Edith graduated 5 Jun 1923 with a Bachelor of Arts in Zoology plus a Certificate from the School of Education for her additional coursework in the Science of Education and Psychology. (She would have been able to teach with that combination of classes.) It was very unusual in those days for women to earn a degree in Zoology- women were not even allowed to vote when she started college! Her major had originally been music, but she changed it when she realized the classes in zoology were much more interesting. Edith’s beautiful, soft and feminine look in the portraits is quite a contrast to the tomboy she said she sometimes was, including at the university where students had to catch their own specimens for study.

Edith Mae (Roberts) [McMurray] Luck was quite an interesting woman, especially for her time!

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

    1. Family treasure chest of photos.
    2. “Edith M. (Roberts) [McMurray] Luck, and a Wonderful Start in Family History,” published on Heritage Ramblings on 01 Dec 2019,
       http://heritageramblings.net/2019/12/01/edith-m-roberts-mcmurray-luck-and-a-wonderful-start-in-family-history/
    3. “George Anthony Roberts, Sr. of Jasper County, Iowa” published on Heritage Ramblings on 19 Nov 2019, http://heritageramblings.net/2019/11/19/george-anthony-roberts-sr-of-jasper-county-iowa/
    4. Newberg Studio ad in Abel’s Photographic Weekly, Vol. 30, No. 778, p558, p588, 18 Nov 1922; via GoogleBooks.
    5. Newberg Studio ad in The Transit, the annual published by the College of Applied Science, University of Iowa, 1916, p2 (II), via GoogleBooks.

 

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We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.

Original content copyright 2013-2019 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted. 
Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly, i.e, reference this blog.
 Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.

Edith M. (Roberts) [McMurray] Luck, and a Wonderful Start in Family History

Edith M. Roberts, circa 1920. Iowa City, Iowa.

Roberts Family (Click for Family Tree)

It is only fitting to provide a lovely picture of Edith (Roberts) [McMurray] Luck on the blog since this is Thanksgiving weekend. Why, you ask? Have you enjoyed the posts, the stories, the pictures, and the family tree knowledge provided by this blog? If so, Edith deserves a big “THANK YOU” from you, dear reader, as well as from myself- she, along with one other influential person, was the start of my love of family history when I was a child. Edith talked about her family, shared pictures and stories, and made her descendants proud of their ancestors. What a gift! What a legacy!

Edith also preserved so much of our inheritance, even though the bibles, papers, and photos were stored in a hot-in-summer, cold-in-winter attic for decades. She drove family all over the county to visit relatives and hear their stories. She wrote lovely tales of growing up on a farm in Jasper County, Iowa in the early 1900s, and she included details about the personalities of her parents (George A. Roberts, Sr., and Ella Viola (Daniel) Roberts) and grandparents, and the parents of her first husband, Dr. Edward A. McMurray, Sr. That she preserved the legacy is so wonderful- many do not have much information about those who came before. So many do not have the family heirlooms that one can hold in the hand, knowing that others with the same blood held those objects too, so long ago. All of that legacy having such personal aspects is an amazing gift, as well.

“You come from strong pioneer stock- you can do anything you set your mind to.” How her words resonated for her descendants, in times of struggle or challenge, her oral legacy helping to make us realize that if the ancestors could persevere, we could too. Studies have shown that children who know their family history have more resilience, and that makes sense. Understanding that others have had similar- and worse!- obstacles to face in their life helps us realize we are not alone in having roadblocks thrown at us as we navigate life. Knowing how dire the circumstances of our ancestors might have been at times makes one feel ‘wimpy’ in comparison, until one realizes those same genes make us who we are today. The ancestors have given us this gift through our DNA and our stories, down through the ages. That resilience, that fortitude, can be found within ourselves if we but search for it, tap into it, and use it to persevere.

Edith also showed us the joy of family, the happiness that comes from loving deeply, and from giving and supporting each other and the community. These are gifts that help to make us whole, and fulfilled.

Thank you, dear Edith- and all our ancestors.

 

[More to come about this photo!]

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. Family treasure chest of photos, lovingly shared.

 

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We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.

Original content copyright 2013-2019 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted. 
Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly, i.e, reference this blog.
 Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.

John and Elizabeth Ann (Murrell) Roberts, at home in Prairie City, Jasper County, Iowa- but when?

This entry is part 2 of 3 in the series John and Elizabeth Ann (Murrell) Roberts, at home in Prairie City, Jasper County, Iowa
John and Elizabeth Ann (Murrell) Roberts in front of their home in Prairie City, Jasper Co., Iowa, probably taken around 1915. Cropped from larger photo with house.

Roberts Family (Click for Family Tree)

Determining the year this picture was taken may be more challenging than determining the address.

The house was built in 1900 per tax records in the assessor’s office and various realty websites that use the tax records. A “County News” article in the Newton State Democrat on 9 March 1899 stated John “has moved from Monroe to Prairie City,” and his obituary verified that year for the change of address. We will need to find a deed for the house to determine exactly when it was purchased and later sold by John Roberts.

So was this photo taken before the image with the whole family on N. Sherman St., or after? (“Treasure Chest Thursday: The John Roberts and Elizabeth Ann Murrell Roberts Family in 1904“) It is hard to tell if the trees are more mature than the photo identified as 1904. It appears that the tree behind the house is quite tall, but that tree is not seen in the 1904 image- had it not grown that tall by that date, or possibly had already been cut down? The known-date image has a large bush by the front porch, but it is not in the picture above- again, are we moving forward in time with foliage growing in this picture, or had it been cut down? In this case,  looking at foliage is not really definitive in this photo comparison.

The paint scheme on the house is different too. Was the house plain when built, and the Roberts family added the contrasting trim colors? Or did they take a Victorian-style house with multiple colors and ‘update’ it to take it out of the Victorian era?

Not much help from landscape or house clues in the pictures…

John and Elizabeth Ann (Murrell) Roberts in front of their home in Prairie City, Jasper Co., Iowa, possibly taken around 1915.

Sometimes looking carefully at the people in the photo and how they have changed can tell us which is the older picture.

Here is a picture of John and Lizzie in 1904, cropped from the large family group picture in front of the same house:

John S. Roberts and his wife Elizabeth Ann (Murrell) Roberts at the family homeplace, 1904. Cropped from a larger family picture.

We do have a picture of John in 1909 for comparison:

Four generations of the Roberts family: John Roberts, age 76, on right; his son William Edward “W.E.” Roberts, 50, on left, W.E.’s daughter Maude (Roberts) Jensma, age 24, and her 8 month old son, Andrew Edward Jensma. 22 Aug 1909.

There is information from Edith (Roberts) McMurray Luck that after “Grandma Roberts” (Elizabeth Ann (Murrell) Roberts) died on 2 Feb 1917, their son W. E. Roberts moved in with John Roberts and took care of him. In 1910, W. E. and his wife and children were living on a farm in Mound Prairie Township; by the 1920 US Federal Census, W.E. and his wife Mary Margaret (Main) Roberts were living in Prairie City, on Jefferson St. (no house number recorded). There were no children in the household and W.E. had “none” listed as his occupation, so he likely had retired by age 61. John Roberts was living with them and listed in the census as W.E.’s father, and a widower. Apparently, they were not living in the house at 108 N. Sherman, so it may have been sold soon after Lizzie died, when W.E. and his wife began to care for John.

The obituary of John Roberts also verified that W. E. did care for his father as he aged, as it stated that John had lived with his son for five years at the time of his death.  John died on 22 Jan 1922.

John Roberts, c1901(?) This image was used in his obituary.

So we know that John and Lizzie Roberts lived in the house at 108 N. Sherman from at least 1904, when the family group picture was taken, but no earlier than 1900 when the house was built. Since Lizzie died in 1917, the image has to have been taken before her death. My guess is that it was taken about 1915, but that is just a guess- nothing to really verify that hunch.

Hopefully some other descendant has a similar image that has a date on it!

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. Move of John and Lizzie Roberts from Monroe, IA to Prairie City, IA: “County News,” Newton State Democrat, 9 Mar 1899, page 5.
  2. “Treasure Chest Thursday: The John Roberts and Elizabeth Ann Murrell Roberts Family in 1904” at http://heritageramblings.net/2014/02/13/treasure-chest-t…s-family-in-1904/
  3. Obituary of John Roberts: Prairie City News, 1 Feb 1922, Vol. 48, No. 5, Page 1.

 

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We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.

Original content copyright 2013-2019 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted. 
Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly, i.e, reference this blog.
 Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.