Roberts Family (Click for Family Trees)

Since it is still the birthday week of Edward A. McMurray, Jr., let’s continue celebrating with some of the treasures we still have, in addition to all the wonderful memories.

Edward A. McMurray, Sr. (1900-1992) was still in medical school in St. Louis, Missouri, when his first son was born. Here he is with Edward A. McMurray, Jr., who was 11 months old at the time. “Dr.” McMurray would graduate from St. Louis University Medical School just a few months after this picture was taken:

And here is the proud mama again, Edith M. Roberts McMurray, when Edward Jr. was a bit older, perhaps around his first birthday:

On the Roberts side, Edith’s sister, Ethel G. Roberts Robison (1891-1969), had a son and two daughters, so Edward was not the first grandchild on that branch of the family tree. Sadly however, George Anthony Roberts (1861-1931), Edith’s father, had not wanted Ethel to marry the man she did (though in the long run Ethel made the better choice), and George would not even acknowledge his first three grandchildren. So to “Daddy George,” Edward’s nickname for him, Edward was essentially his first, and only, grandchild.

Edith’s mother, Ella V. Daniel Roberts (1866-1922), had passed away two years before Edward was born. It must have been very hard for Edith to not have her beloved momma with her to rejoice in the birth of a dear son!

On the McMurray side, Edward Jr. was the cherished very first grandchild. His paternal grandparents, Lynette Payne McMurray, and William Elmer McMurray, were doting grandparents:

Edith, in the stories she wrote about her life, spoke about Will McMurray and what a “jovial and friendly” man he was, with “a most hearty laugh.” She called Will, “Dad” and Lynette, “Mother” and was very close to them throughout their lives. Edith wrote about how Will was known to all as “Bill.”

“He would be hailed from every street corner.  “Hey Bill, how goes it this morning?” Dad would have a ready answer.

He loved the circus.  When Edward Jr. was just six weeks old, we went to one out north of town.  Proudly Dad carried his first Grandchild on his fat tummy and you can imagine the attention he got.  “How about having a look at the boy Bill?”  Dad just beamed and the rest of us acted stupid, grinning from ear to ear.”

The family nickname for Ed’s paternal great-grandmother was “Amino” which was pronounced “AM-in-o.” The caption was written by Ed, Jr. in his family scrapbook he created around 1948, just before he got married. Since he was the oldest grandchild, perhaps he came up with her nickname as he was learning to talk!

William and Lynette’s other son, Herbert C. McMurray (1911-1989), Edward’s paternal uncle, was just 13 years old when Ed Jr. was born.

A bit older, Edward looks like he is not so sure about this ride Uncle Herbert was providing:

Edward, Jr. was lucky enough to have two great-grandparents still living when he was born.  We do not have any pictures of him with his great-grandfather Frederick Asbury “F.A.” McMurray (1859-1929), but here Ed is with Hannah Malissa Benjamin McMurray (1854-1932), F.A.’s wife. In his later years, Ed was able to recognize her in this picture, but all he could remember was, “She was very stern.”

When he was a bit older, about 3 or 4, Ed hung out with his buddy Uncle Herbert:

Herbert was such a favorite with Edward Jr.- in fact, Ed asked Herbert to be his best man when he married in 1948!

Edith adored her in-laws. She traveled back and forth between Newton and St. Louis to be with Ed Sr. who was still in medical school and then likely completing his residency there. Edith wrote:

“They were so good to me.  I stayed with them a lot, in the summer when it was too hot for us to be in St. Louis and later in an apartment on the north side of 322 E 4th St. W.  I can see where we were no doubt a nuisance as [Edward] had colic and one night we had a cyclone and both of us were so exhausted that is Edward and I, we slept thru it and his baby carriage was blown off the porch and Fourth street was blocked with trees blown down.

Dad sold my cakes I made so that I could make enuf money to go to St. Louis in the fall and I was always taken with them on Sundays to Des Moines and to Hudson where we went to visit the McMillans.  I believe they were cousins of Mothers.  It would have been so nice if Mother and Dad had gone by themselves.  On the way home nine times out of ten we had a flat tire.  It would be late at night and every one tired.  Dad and I would get out and Mother would hold the sleeping grandson… [while he was] getting it fixed…”

All that family love in the early years helped Edward Arthur McMurray, Jr. grow into the fine man he would later become.

 

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. Provided above as she wrote them, with her spelling abbreviations and lack of punctuation- she was always too busy to pause for a comma or stop for a period!
3. “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 gives a little insight into who he was.

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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 2013-2022 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 the copyright or use of “Heritage Ramblings” blog material.

Helbling Family (Click for Family Tree)

Back in the day, there were often cameras set up along busy city streets- not for surveillance, traffic, or weather, like today, but to take pictures of persons as they were shopping, going to appointments or work, running out for lunch, etc. This is one of those photos, taken of Mary Theresa Helbling (later McMurray) and her mother, Anna May Beerbower Helbling. Mary would have been 15 in 1940, so we are guesstimating that year approximately for this image, but it could be earlier or later.

People dressed up back then to go shopping- even to the grocery store. Love the hat that May is wearing. (Anna May used her middle name.)

We do have a bit of information on the back of the photo:

We have not found much about the photographer nor what we think may be “Weil for Men” (or “Weir”? “We II”?) That is the business in the background- see also image in Note #1. Knowing the store would tell us where they were in St. Louis when it was taken. That information would also narrow the time frame, so we have a request out to St. Louis County Public Library for a directory lookup and will update when we learn anything new.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Here is another photo taken at the same place: https://mohistory.org/collections/item/N36723
2. The Ashen-Brenner Studio is listed in a 1925 St. Louis City Directory: https://stlouis.genealogyvillage.com/1925photographers.htm
3. Another link stated the studio was in business in the first half of the 20th century, but will not post that link because it seems to be a sketchy website.

 

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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 2013-2021 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 the copyright or use of “Heritage Ramblings” blog material.

Helbling Family (Click for Family Tree)

Today, March 16th, is the anniversary of Mary Theresa Helbling’s birth, so we wanted to share this adorable picture of her with friends, family or co-workers. It was probably taken in the mid-to late forties, when Mary was in her early twenties. Mary is on the left, but we don’t know who the young women are- please let us know if you do!

Mary was born to Gerard William “G.W.” HELBLING (1882-1971) and Anna May BEERBOWER HELBLING in 1925 in St. Louis, Missouri. She was their seventh child, and the youngest by 5 years, but her oldest brother was 17 when she was born.

The late forties were a good time for women in America in many ways. It was sad that our men were going off to fight in World War II, but it gave women an opportunity to be very involved in the workplace, and have a job that made a difference in the war effort. Mary worked for the government and loved the tasks at her job, per her letters, as she always enjoyed typing- she was really fast!  She also loved that she knew shorthand. For those too young to know, shorthand was a quick method of cursive writing with abbreviations and symbols used for sounds. As someone was speaking, such as dictating a letter, the “steno” (short for stenographer) would take down the words on one of those small coiled-top, lined ‘steno’ notebooks with the firm cardboard back. One had to be able to read the shorthand later though, to type up the document. Mary was very good at each of these steps, and even invented her own shorthand for some of the official shorthand she had learned. (No one else could read it then!)

Mary used her knowledge of shorthand throughout the years after she left her job and became a full-time wife and mother, which was what she always wanted to be. She would write herself notes in her special shorthand- and no one else in the house could read them!

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Family treasure chest of photos.

 

Click to enlarge any image. Please contact us if you would like an image in higher resolution.

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 2013-2021 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 the copyright or use of “Heritage Ramblings” blog material.

McMurray Family (Click for Family Tree)

Edward A. McMurray adored his paternal grandmother, Lynette (Payne) McMurray. He always thought of her as a kind and very refined lady. (Just look at the beautiful coat and hat she was wearing!)

Lynette was lovingly called, “Ameno,” or “Amno” as Ed noted in the photo album he created in the late 1940s. He used both spellings, and he always admitted he was not very good at spelling. (As a pharmacist, however, he could spell the generic names of a host of medicines!) “Amino” was how other family members spelled her nickname, but it was always pronounced, “Am-en-oh.”

Lynette (Payne) McMurray (1879-1968) was the daughter of Edward Biron Payne and his wife Nanie Maria Burnell. She married William Elmer McMurray and they lived in Newton, Iowa, for all of their married life.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Family treasure chests of photos, from Ed McMurray’s photo album put together in the late 1940s, probably before he married. Perhaps the album was a way to introduce his Iowa family to his fiancé, Mary T. Helbling who lived in St. Louis, Missouri.

 

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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 2013-2018 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.

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Helbling Family (Click for Family Tree)

“Dinghy” was the dog that was hit by a car in front of their home on Hampton Ave., in St. Louis, Missouri. Mary had married the love of her life, Edward A. McMurray, Jr., who was attending St. Louis College of Pharmacy. (Most people called him “Mac.”) They had very little money, so they lived with Mary’s parents, G.W. Helbling and Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling. One day they heard the screech of tires in front of the house and rushed out to the busy street. A car had hit a black dog, so they carefully carried the dog to the vet’s office. Thankfully the dog survived, and he was a loving member of the family for over ten years. They took him on their honeymoon to the Lake of the Ozarks:

They loved the Ozarks, and took a number of trips there.

He was the sweetest dog- loved swimming in the lake and running, and tolerated four young children pulling and poking at him, trying to ride him, dress him up, etc. If there is sainthood for dogs, he definitely deserves it!

The brand new home that Mary and Mac built in Glasgow Village, in north St. Louis County, became home in 1953 or 1954. This may be one of the last pictures with Mary and her dog before children were always in the pictures too!

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Family treasure chest of photos.

 

Click to enlarge any image. Please contact us if you would like an image in higher resolution.

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 2013-2017 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.

 Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.

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