image_pdfimage_print

Mystery Monday: Tressa Cullen and Eidlh Cullen

Tressa and Eidlh Cullen, 5 November 1937, Chicago, Illinois
Tressa and Eidlh Cullen, 5 November 1937, Chicago, Illinois

 

This photo was found in with the treasures of the Lee family. ( See “Family Trees” drop down menu or http://heritageramblings.net/family-trees/the-lee-alexander-aiken-family/ for pedigree and names, plus articles pertaining to this family.)

The back of this photo of Tressa Cullen and Eidlh Cullen states “Friends of Grandma Aiken, Nov. 5, 1937, Chicago.”

‘Grandma Aiken’ would most probably have been  Dora J. (Russell) Aiken, married to William H. Aiken, since the images were in the possession of Gene and Vada (Kovich) Lee; they may have noted the information about the picture. Dora lived in the household of her daughter, Dorothy “Dottie” (Aiken) Lee, with Dottie’s husband Samuel Lee and their son, Lloyd Eugene “Gene” Lee. Gene’s first wife Ruth Nadine (Alexander) Lee lived in the household too after their marriage in 1929, as did their son, Robert Eugene “Bob” Lee, born in 1932. Dora was listed in the 1920 and 1930 US Federal Censuses as a widow (she and her husband had separated between the 1910 census and 1917) and living with her daughter and her family.

Interestingly, Dora Aiken, who was born in 1864, died in 1935, two years before this picture was taken. Perhaps the family kept in touch with the Cullens even after Dora’s death? Or maybe the year is wrong.

Any information about these sweet ladies would be appreciated. Are  they sisters or mother and daughter? A quick search on Ancestry.com did not turn up any information.

 

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Lee Family photo collection.

 

Please contact us if you would like a higher resolution image.

Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

 
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post, 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.

Friday’s Faces from the Past: Claude Aiken, Part 2

This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series Friday's Faces from the Past: Claude Aiken
Possibly Claude Frank Aiken, c1930s?
Possibly Claude Frank Aiken, c1930s? (Click to enlarge.)

A man with two families probably deserves two blog posts.

 

Claude Frank Aiken married Mildred Paul sometime after 1933 and his divorce from Elvira (Kring) Aiken. He was 45, she 23.

Mildred M. (Paul) Aiken Jan 1932.  (Click to enlarge.)
Mildred M. (Paul) Aiken Jan 1932 (Click to enlarge.)

He had three children with Mildred as well, but neither of his families really knew each other. They knew there was another family, but no details. Fast forward to the age of Ancestry.com and Find A Grave, plus some researchers interested in collateral relatives (that would be your blog editors); it added up to children of the two families finding each other after many, many years.

 

Back to Claude’s life:

Claude had passed the exams to be a Registered Pharmacist after the required two years of college. His nephew, Lloyd Eugene “Gene” Lee, son of Claude’s sister Dorothy (Aiken) Lee, passed the exam for Assistant Pharmacist at the same test session. The clipping does not have a date but it was probably 1928.

New Registered Pharmacist- Claude Aiken, Assistant Pharmacist- Lloyd Eugene "Gene" Lee, date and newspaper unknown from clipping.
New Registered Pharmacist- Claude Aiken, Assistant Pharmacist- Lloyd Eugene “Gene” Lee, date and newspaper unknown from clipping. (Click to enlarge.)

Claude bought Martin’s Drugstore about that time, and he and Mildred worked together in the drugstore at 922 S. Vandeventer. They lived in the back of the building.

The neighborhood got rougher, and times were tougher during the depression, but they kept on with the pharmacy being an important part of the community. Their first child was 2 and a second child was expected or newborn when Claude foiled a robbery attempt from a very dangerous convicted burglar:

19 Sep 1936- Robbery Attempt Foiled, St. Louis Globe Democrat.
19 Sep 1936- Robbery Attempt Foiled, St. Louis Globe Democrat. (Click to enlarge.)

Transcription:

“FOURTH CHARGE FACED BY CAPTURED BURGLAR.

C. L. Patterson Caught in Drug Store as Proprietor Enters With Pistol.

Police asked the Circuit Attorney’s office yesterday for the issuance of a fourth burglary warrant against Carson Lee Patterson, 28-year-old ex-convict, following the capture earlier in the morning while ransacking a drug store at 922 South Vandeventer Avenue.

Patterson told police he had entered the place to secure enough money to hire a lawyer to defend himself in three pending burglary cases.

He was apprehended by Mr. and Mrs. Claude Aiken, operators of the store, who live in the rear of the building. Hearing the cash register ring as the burglar opened it, Aiken secured a pistol, rushed in to the store, and forced Patterson to hold up his hands. He fired one shot high upon the wall to scare the intruder.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Aiken called the police. Patterson readily admitted his identity upon arrival of officers.

Patterson is one of five youths who admitted 29 burglaries when they were arrested last month. He has served two prison terms, one for grand larceny in 1928 and one for burglary in 1931. He received a parole after serving part of the burglary sentence, but it was revoked after he was arrested as one of the men who tortured a Franklin County farmer and his wife to secure $150. Withing four months of his release from prison he was again facing burglary charges.”

Interesting that Peterson thought to pay his legal fees concerning previous burglaries through proceeds from another burglary. Ah, the criminal mind…

June 1942- Claude Frank Aiken and his wife Mildred Paul in their drugstore.
June 1942- Claude Frank Aiken and his wife Mildred Paul in their drugstore. (Click to enlarge.)

The 1939 St. Louis City Directory lists them and the store at 922 Vandeventer, as does the 1940 US Federal Census which states that the home and store were rented. They had two children, ages 6 and 4, living with them in 1940.

Claude died just four years after the census, on 05 May 1944. He is buried in the Lee family plot with his sister, Dorothy (Aiken) Lee and her husband, and her mother, Dora (Russell) Aiken. Mildred passed away 18 Nov 1972 in St. Louis, Missouri.

 

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Family photos and ephemera.

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images.

Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

 
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post, 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.

Wordless Wednesday: Lee Family Clock

Lee Family Clock, St. Louis, Missouri
Lee Family Pillar Mantle Clock, St. Louis, Missouri

The family oral history is that this clock sat on the fireplace mantle in the household of Samuel Lenton Lee (1849-1932) and later his son, Samuel J. Lee (1879-1964), and then grandson, Lloyd Eugene “Gene” Lee (1907-1991). It is known positively that it belonged to Samuel J. Lee and Gene Lee, but not verified that it was owned by the elder Samuel Lee. The two younger Lees lived on Alamo in St. Louis, Missouri.

Lee Clock- Detail
Lee Clock- Pillar Detail

Inside it has printing on how to use and regulate the clock, and states “Made and sold by Seth Thomas, Plymouth Hollow, Connecticut. Warranted  Good.”

Lee Clock- Face
Lee Clock- Face

The clock is a wood veneer, possibly rosewood, with ebonized pillars and gold at the cap and base of the pillars. It appears that the clock face has been replaced as it has little wear. Note the “S” and “T” on the hands of the clock.

Further research is needed to date the clock. My very brief research suggests it may be from 1870-1875 or so.

The clock has not worked for more than a day or two since it has been in our possession, despite numerous rides to the clock repair shop.

Samuel Lenton Lee immigrated to Bunker Hill, Illinois in 1870, per censuses, at age 21, from his birthplace in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. (Family oral history stated the year as 1856, but he would only have been 7 at the time.) He arrived in New Orleans and took passage on a boat up the Mississippi to Macoupin County, Illinois. On 7 Oct 1878, he married Louisa Marie Brandenberger- perhaps the clock was a wedding gift? Samuel died in Bunker Hill, and his son Samuel J. moved to St. Louis, Missouri, sometime between 1906, when he married Dorothy Adele Aiken (1884-1953) in Bunker Hill, and 1910, when he is found in the US Federal Census in St. Louis, Missouri.

 

So okay, I really cannot do a Wordless Wednesday post, and this will be my last. But what good is seeing an artifact if one does not know the history to make it a family treasure?

 

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Family  treasure.

2) Source Citation: Year: 1900; Census Place: Bunker Hill, Macoupin, Illinois; Roll: 324; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 0051; FHL microfilm: 1240324. Ancestry.com. Accessed 7/2/14.

3) Source Citation: Year: 1910; Census Place: St Louis Ward 23, Saint Louis City, Missouri; Roll: T624_821; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 0355; FHL microfilm: 1374834.

4) Dating clock: https://www.antiqueclockspriceguide.com/labelstrademarks.php?lm=Seth%20Thomas

5) See also Five Family Photos for Friday- Samuel J. Lee of St. Louis, Missouri  and That Place Thursday: Samuel J. Lee and Son Pharmacy, St. Louis, Missouri.

 

 

Please contact us if you would like a higher resolution image.

Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

 
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post, 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.

Workday Wednesday- Dora Russell Aiken

Dora J. Russell Aiken-Business Card
Dora J. Russell Aiken-Business Card (Click to enlarge.)

Dora J. RUSSELL was born to David S. RUSSELL (1833-1897) and Rebecca Ann LUTZ (1841-1916) on 05 April 1862 in Flora, Clay County, Illinois (per death certificate) or Lorraine Village, Black River Township, Lorain, Ohio. (I think the latter, though some family researchers insist on Flora, IL, and her daughter listed Flora as Dora’s birthplace on the death certificate.) Dora had an older sister named Cora, so in the family they were affectionately known as “Cora and Dora from Flora.” There were two brothers as well: George Franklin Russell (1870-1927) and Claude Elmer Russell (1875-1942).

We have been unable to find the family in any 1870 census, but in 1877, Dora, just 13, was working in Caledonia Twp., Michigan as a domestic servant in the home of William and Mina Tick. Dora is then found in 1880 in Black River Twp., Lorain Co., Ohio with her family, where she was working as a milliner at age 16.

Dora married William H. AIKEN about 1883 and their first child, Dorothy Adele AIKEN(1884-1953), was born in Black River, Lorain, Ohio. The family lived in Amherst, Lorain, OH in 1885. Their son Claude Frank AKEN (or Frank Claude AIKEN) (1887,88, or 89?-1944), was also born in Lorain Co., Ohio.

In 1900 the family was living in New Madrid, Missouri. By 1910 they had moved to Florence, Fremont Co., Colorado with just son Claude- daughter Dottie had married Samuel J. Lee in 1906 and they were living in St. Louis, Missouri at the 1910 census.

Dora and her husband split up sometime between the 1910 census and the 1917 St. Louis City Directory that lists her as a widow and working as a nurse. (Thus the above business card is probably from that era.) She may have lived with her son Claude Aiken and his wife around 1915 in Chicago and again (still?) in 1917, as Claude’s World War I Draft Registration of 05 June 1917 in Oakville, St. Louis Co., Missouri notes that his mother and his wife are both dependents.

Dora Russell Aiken is found in the 1920 US Federal Census in St. Louis, Missouri with her daughter Dorothy “Dottie” (Aiken) Lee and Dottie’s husband Samuel J. Lee. At the 1930 census, the household consisted of her son-in-law, Samuel J. Lee, his wife Dorothy (Aiken) Lee, their son Lloyd Eugene “Gene” and his wife Ruth Nadine (Alexander) Lee, and their young son Robert Eugene Lee, Dora’s great-grandson. She lived the remainder of her life with her daughter and son-in-law.

Four generations of Aikens: Dora (Russell) Aiken sitting, her daughter Dorothy "Dottie" (Aiken) Lee, Dottie's son Lloyd Eugene "Gene" Lee, and Gene's son Robert Eugene Lee sitting on his great-grandmother's lap. Taken about 1933 at the house on Alamo in St. Louis, Missouri.
Four generations of Aikens: Dora (Russell) Aiken sitting, her daughter Dorothy “Dottie” Adele (Aiken) Lee standing behind her, Dottie’s son Lloyd Eugene “Gene” Lee, and Gene’s son Robert Eugene Lee sitting on his great-grandmother’s lap. Taken about 1933 at the house on Alamo in St. Louis, Missouri. (Click to enlarge.)

Dora (Russell) Aiken died on 7 Apr 1935, and is buried with her daughter Dorothy and son-in-law Samuel Lee  in Memorial Park, MO. Her son Claude Frank Aiken is buried nearby.

 

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) My Find A Grave Memorial# 57013339 for Dora Aiken Lee: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Aiken&GSiman=1&GScid=30159&GRid=57013339&. Accessed 2/25/14.

2) 1880 US Federal census for David S. Russell: Source Citation: Year: 1880; Census Place: Lorain, Lorain, Ohio; Roll: 1042; Family History Film: 1255042; Page: 345B; Enumeration District: 163; Image: 0040. Accessed at Ancestry.com 2/25/14.

3) 1900 US Federal Census for William H. Aiken: Source Citation: Year: 1900; Census Place: West, New Madrid, Missouri; Roll: 877; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 0078; FHL microfilm: 1240877. Accessed 2/26/14.

4) 1910 US Federal Census for William H. Aiken: Source Citation: Year: 1910; Census Place: Florence Ward 3, Fremont, Colorado; Roll: T624_119; Page: 30B; Enumeration District: 0069; FHL microfilm: 1374132. Accessed 2/26/14.

5) 1917 City Directory- St.. Louis, MO: Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Accessed 2/26/14.

6) 1917 US Draft Registration for Claud F Aiken: Source Citation: Registration State: Missouri; Registration County: St Louis; Roll: 1683865; Draft Board: 3. Accessed 2/26/14.

7) 1920 US Federal Census for Samuel J. Lee: Source Citation: Year: 1920; Census Place: St Louis Ward 24, St Louis (Independent City), Missouri; Roll: T625_960; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 468; Image: 245. Accessed 2/26/14.

8) 1930 US federal census for Samuel J. Lee: Source Citation: Year: 1930; Census Place: St Louis, St Louis (Independent City), Missouri; Roll: 1245; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0239; Image: 830.0; FHL microfilm: 2340980. Accessed 2/26/14.

9) Family ephemera and photographs- treasures all.

 

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images.

Copyright 2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

 
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post, 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.

Five Family Photos for Friday- Samuel J. Lee of St. Louis, Missouri

A portrait of samuel J. Lee taken in St. Louis, Missouri. He appears to be about 3 or 4, so this would have been taken around1882-3.

A portrait of Samuel J. Lee taken in St. Louis, Missouri. He appears to be about 3 or 4, so this would have been taken around 1882-3.

[Click on any image to enlarge.]

 

Samuel J. Lee was born to Samuel Lenton Lee (1849-1932) and his wife Louisa M. Brandenburger (1859-1934) in Bunker Hill, Macoupin, Illinois on 29 Jun 1879. He married Dorothy Adele Aiken (1884-1953) on 1 Dec 1906 in Bunker Hill. They moved to St. Louis, Missouri by 7 Sep 1907, when their son Lloyd Eugene Lee was born.

Samuel J. Lee (left) in his Chouteau Ave store in St. Louis, Missouri, circa 1920?
Samuel J. Lee (left) in his Chouteau Ave store in St. Louis, Missouri, circa 1920?

Sam Lee had a drugstore at 4067 Chouteau Ave. in St. Louis. When his son also became a pharmacist, the store was called “S. J. Lee & Son.”

Samuel J. Lee home at 6204 Alamo Ave., St. Louis, Missouri. 1930s or 1940s?
Samuel J. Lee family home at 6204 Alamo Ave., St. Louis, Missouri. 1930s or 1940s?

The Lees purchased their home at 6204 Alamo in St. Louis sometime between the 1920 and 1930 censuses.

Christmas, possibly 1960s, at the Samuel J. Lee home on Alamo in St. Louis, Missouri.
Christmas, possibly 1960s, at the Samuel J. Lee home on Alamo in St. Louis, Missouri.
Samuel J. Lee in His Drugstore in St. Louis, Missouri, possibly 1940s or 1950s?
Samuel J. Lee in his drugstore in St. Louis, Missouri, possibly 1950s or 1960s?

Sam died 24 Sep 1964 in St. Louis and was buried in Memorial Park Cemetery in Jennings, St. Louis Co., Missouri.

 

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Birth information for Samuel J. Lee: Source Citation: Registration State: Missouri; Registration County: St Louis (Independent City); Roll: 1683856; Draft Board: 24. Source Information: Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Accessed 12/11/13.

2) Samuel J. Lee and Dorothy Adele Aiken marriage certificate in family artifacts.

3) Birth record of Lloyd Eugene Lee: Source Information: Ancestry.com. Missouri Birth Records, 1851-1910 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: Missouri Birth Records [Microfilm]. Jefferson City, MO, USA: Missouri State Archives. Accessed 12/11/13.

4) 1920 US Federal Census: Source Citation: Year: 1920; Census Place: St Louis Ward 24, St Louis (Independent City), Missouri; Roll: T625_960; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 468; Image: 245. Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Accessed 12/11/13.

5) 1930 US Federal Census: Source Citation: Year: 1930; Census Place: St Louis, St Louis (Independent City), Missouri; Roll: 1245; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0239; Image: 830.0; FHL microfilm: 2340980. Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls. Accessed 12/11/13.

6) Find A Grave Memorial # 56893479, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=56893479. Accessed 12/11/13.

7) Note: edited 7/2/14 and changed “George Lenton Lee” to “Samuel Lenton Lee.” George Lee was the father of Samuel Lenton Lee; Samuel’s mother was Eliza Lenton.

 

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images.

Copyright 2013 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.