Dorothy Aiken – Heritage Ramblings

Friday’s Faces from the Past: At 1038 Grand View Place in St. Louis, Missouri

*Samuel J. Lee family home at 1038 Grandview, St. Louis, Missouri, October 1922.*

Details of a house can give one clues to pictures with no names, addresses, or dates. The first picture in this post was positively identified by Gene Lee as being their Grand View home, and he identified his mother and the place in the image below. From there we need to make educated guesses about other images in a photo album that look similar.

Dorothy (Aiken) Lee, probably in front of their home at 1038 Grand View Place, St. Louis, Missouri. (Known identification of Dorothy.)

Things we know about this house:

1) It has large white rectangular stones along foundation.

*05 Aug 1923, outside 1038 Grand View Place. Unknown woman.*

2) The house has brick above the foundation, probably a red brick.

3) There are arched bricks over lower windows of the house in the basement.

4) The house has a basement.

5) Lattice surrounds the base of the porch.

April 1918, outside 1038 Grand View Place, St. Louis, Missouri. Possibly Dora Russell Aiken, who lived with her daughter's family. — *April 1918, outside 1038 Grand View Place, St. Louis, Missouri. Possibly Dora Russell Aiken, who lived with her daughter’s family.*

6) A wooden railing with columns surrounds the porch.

7) Height of porch is about 4 feet.

1920, Lloyd Eugene "Gene" Lee at 1038 Grandview, St. Louis, Missouri. He was about 13 in this photo. — *1920, Lloyd Eugene “Gene” Lee at 1038 Grandview, St. Louis, Missouri. He was about 13 in this photo.*

8) The front porch has wide steps.

*1922- 1038 Grand View Place. Probably Dorothy (Aiken) Lee.*

9) It looks like the wild vegetation was cleared back and columns made bigger on the porch- note differences from first image, but others of these images were verified by Gene Lee (who lived there)- he said they were 1038 Grand View Place.

10) There is a lone tree at the base of the steps.

11) A narrow sidewalk curves around the side of the house.

11) The house appears to be on a cul-de-sac.

12) Using Google maps and street view, we can see that there is a large two-story building nearby (currently a school and may have been in the 1920s as well), plus a house nearby that has a third story window that is the maximum height for its width in the gable. (This house seems to have been demolished; the freeway is very close by now and the road was terminated.)

Using these clues, there are other images in the Lee photo album that were most probably taken at 1038 Grand View Place. Knowing who lived in the house at certain times can help us narrow the possibilities of the persons in the pictures.

*May 30, 1924, Decoration Day probably in front of 1038 Grand View Place, St. Louis, Missouri. Dorothy (Aiken) Lee on left?*

*April, 1918. Possibly Dorothy (Aiken) Lee in front of their home at 1038 Grand View Place, St. Louis, Missouri. Note similar house next door.*

scan0339 — *Possibly Dora J. Russell on left with unknown woman. Probably in front of 1038 Grand View Place, St. Louis, Missouri, in the 1920s.*

Possibly Dora J. (Russell) Aiken at 1038 Grand View Place, St. Louis, Missouri, 1920s. — *Possibly Dora J. (Russell) Aiken at 1038 Grand View Place, St. Louis, Missouri, May 1923.*

The Lees had moved on to 6704 Alamo by the time of the 1930 US Federal census.

The house is still standing, and is listed on Zillow.com as being 1,444 sq. ft. with one bathroom, built in 1908. It is located near Clayton and Berthold Streets on Grandview Place (now ‘Grand View’ is one word instead of two). Due to Google’s Terms of Service I cannot post an image of the house, but if you click here, it should take you to the image.

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Photos from the Lee family treasure chest.

2) GoogleMaps street view of house today: https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6310572,-90.3012714,3a,75y,87.49h,90.75t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sZ8aSXN4kZFkCNUzY4o9ygQ!2e0

Those Places Thursday: Aiken and Lee Family Homes

Home of Henry Edwin Aiken and his second wife Lizzie Schmink. The young woman and man may be William Hanford Aiken and his wife Dora J. Russell. A family picture provided by a kind collaborator, DB. — Home of Henry Edwin “H. E.” Aiken and his second wife Lizzie Schmink in Amherst, Ohio. The young woman and man may be William Hanford “W. H.” Aiken and his wife Dora J. Russell. Image would have been taken after about 1891 when H. E. married Lizzie. A family picture provided by a kind collaborator, DB. (Click to enlarge.)

Since I have been focused on building a new home and have not had much time for writing, I thought some pictures of family homes might be in order on the blog.

mage of "Grandpa Aiken" or W. H. Aiken, d Feb. 17, 1942 in Tylerlawn, Mississippi. Unknown if this is his house or not. — *Image of “Grandpa Aiken” or W. H. Aiken, d Feb. 17, 1942 in Tylerlawn, Mississippi. Unknown if this is actually his house. (Click to enlarge.)*

Interior of Lee home at 6204 Alamo, St. Louis, Missouri. The clock on the mantel is still in the family, and the favorite dog in the picture is Mickey. — *Interior of Lee home at 6204 Alamo, St. Louis, Missouri. The clock on the mantel is still in the family, and the beloved dog in the picture is Mickey. (Click to enlarge.)*

*Lee home at 6204 Alamo, St. Louis, Missouri. (Click to enlarge.)*

Three generations of Lees lived in the above house at 6204 Alamo Drive in St. Louis, Missouri: Samuel J. Lee and his wife Dorothy Adele Aiken, Lloyd Eugene Lee and his wife Ruth Nadine Alexander along with their son Robert Eugene Lee, and after Ruth died, Gene’s second wife, Vada Kovich.

The buildings we live in contribute so much to our daily lives, even though we often forget about them or their beauty and comfort until the house demands attention, like cleaning, painting, or plumbing repair. Knowing where our ancestors lived and what their houses looked like, inside and out, can give us a better understanding of their lives.

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Family treasure chest of photos and scans.

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images.

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? (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. (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. (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.

Tag: Dorothy Aiken

Friday’s Faces from the Past: At 1038 Grand View Place in St. Louis, Missouri

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Those Places Thursday: Aiken and Lee Family Homes

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

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