Grandpa Ryan

Later posts will discuss Grandpa as a father (in the context of posts about each of his children).  But for now, I want to write about Grandpa.  Grandpa reveled in the role.  In the end there were 25 grandchildren:  7 Joneses, 4 McCaffertys, 6 Hansens, and 8 Ryans.  Grandma and Grandpa loved their family.  When I was young, Grandma and Grandpa sold the family home in Wyoming and built a two-bedroom ranch on Galbraith Rd. in Amberley Village.

Their new home was perfect for what was to come.  Each holiday we would fill the basement with long tables that were able to seat everyone by family.  In the beginning, Great-Grandpa Vonderheide had the place of honor at the head of the table.  Following his death, Grandpa held that seat.  The table was set with crystal and china for the adults -- I am the proud owner of all of it.  We had a routine for doing dishes following each holiday dinner.

Every Christmas each grandchild (with the assistance of parents) was allotted $10 to buy gifts.  Evey tells the story of wanting some special material that was going to "break the budget".  After searching for material that fell within the guidelines, Grandma went ahead and purchased what Evey really wanted.  Evey was spending the night at Grandma and Grandpa's house and heard them discussing this budget dilemma.  She recalls Grandpa saying that she (Evey) was worth it.  What a memory.

At Christmas Grandpa would put up two displays in the yard.  One would be of Santa, his sleigh and all of the reindeer.  He had constructed all of it.  The other was of a life-size manger.  It was surrounded by fir trees.

Luckily for us, Grandma Ryan wrote the date and names of everyone in this picture.  The picture was taken on January 2, 1955.  Uncle Jim is on the left holding Terry.  Moving to the right is Jim, Patty, Tom, Kathleen, Chuck, Bill, Carol, Evelyn, Tim, (front row - Diane, Mary Ellen, Karen and Steven).

Every Easter found all of us in our Easter best, often with the girls wearing hats, out in the front yard for the Easter Egg hunt.  From the very beginning, we tended to be born in groups of three:  Year 1 - Kathleen, Chuck and Bill, Year 2 - Tom, Evey and Carol, etc.  We had built-in cousins who were comparable in age.  What a childhood!

When we were older, I remember a trip to Container Corporation on Wooster Pike where Grandpa worked as a machinist.  This particular business produced corrugated paper boxes, among other things.  Grandpa arranged for all of us to tour the plant to get a better feel for what he did for a living.

Eventually Grandpa was diagnosed with cancer.  A tumor had grown into his jaw.  The surgery was intense.  They literally had to remove his jaw and try to fashion the semblance of a jaw with a rib they removed from his rib cage.  Cosmetically, it had to be hard.  He was unable to eat solid foods and had to hold a tissue at the corner of his mouth to catch saliva.  If his situation got him down, I was not aware of it.  Knowing he was not going to survive this, Grandma and Grandpa hired a bus and took the entire family for a day at Clifty Falls State Park in Indiana.  I'm sure my aunts and uncles were aware of just how ill Grandpa was -- to some degree I am sure I was aware.  However, our grandparents gave us one more priceless childhood memory on that bus.  Grandma made her famous pecan rolls and Uncle Jim tried to "steal" them before we got there.

Here is a picture taken with Grandpa with all seven Jones kids from what looks like the view of Cincinnati from Devou Park in Kentucky.  He is holding Don.  Sometimes I am sad that the "little kids" do not share the same memories as the "big kids" in our family.  Hopefully they will know that they were loved.

Royal Joseph Francis Ryan was died on October 26, 1965 at the age of 65.  He is buried at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Montgomery, Ohio.

Roy Ryan - Part II

The Look of Love Is in His Eyes

I love this picture. Look at the way he is looking at her. I have another picture with the same kind of look in his eye. He was in love.

The morning we had breakfast together sharing recollections, Evey reminded me that apparently Virginia didn't have love at first site for Roy. She went to a dance and Roy walked her home. When her mother asked her who walked her home, she is alleged to have replied "Oh, that old Roy Ryan." Her mother asked her what was wrong with Roy Ryan?

One thing for sure, Roy was not the greatest financial prospect as we discussed before, but he must have been persistent. On September 7, 1921 the two were married. Roy was 21 and Virginia was 22 years old.

They initially lived with her parents in the lovely home where they celebrated their wedding. Again, look at Roy's gaze! He certainly looks like the contented groom.

Given the difficult family situation Roy found himself in with the death of his father, it amazes me that he could grow up and become such a wonderful husband, father and provider. My experience of my grandfather is that he was a "family man" in every way. He had three daughters and one son -- Virginia, Evelyn, Florence and finally a son, Jim. Here are some of my recollections (and I hope those reading this add their own recollections to the comment section. I will incorporate them into the blog).

• There isn't a Jones alive who doesn't remember Grandpa telling us that ketchup was made from "old socks and dirty rags." Don't ask me to explain this.
• I remember being held by Grandpa and having him sing "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen" to me as he stroked my arm. Aunt Evelyn said that was one of his favorite songs. He also like the "Old Rugged Cross" and Aunt Evelyn said they wanted it as part of his funeral Mass. The request was denied because the song was not considered to be "Catholic".
• Tim told me that Grandpa had a habit of "tipping his hat" anytime he passed a Catholic Church.
• He was very religious and attended Mass every day in his later years. He was also a Knight of Columbus. You can read about the Knights of Columbus by clicking on this link: Knights of Columbus

I had the opportunity to have breakfast with Jim and Carol Ryan, Evelyn and Charlie McCafferty, Evey and my husband a few weeks ago. I was trying to verify some information before I wrote recent Ryan posts. I asked Uncle Jim how he was like his father. You may enjoy his response, as well as Aunt Evelyn's response in the background.

In the next post, I will focus on Grandpa's role as a grandparent.

Roy Ryan - Part I

My Grandfather, Roy Ryan

Roy Ryan holding me (Kathleen)

 I was able to write all about the Ryan family during April, except for Grandpa. It wasn't from a lack of materials -- conversely, I think it was from too much material. Where do you start writing about someone you loved so much?

Grandpa was born on April 10, 1900. He was the 7th of nine children of James Hugh and Mary Rose. It was the beginning of a new century -- full of promise for the Ryan family. He was my Godfather, following a sort of family tradition of making grandparents the Godparents of the first-borns. My Godmother was my grandmother, Norine Jones. I was the "first" grandchild, beating my cousin, Chuck McCafferty by 18 days.

Roy is a role model to me in so many ways. His father died of pneumonia when he was only 13 years old. In the days before any kind of Social Security, he was forced to drop out of school to help support his mother and two younger siblings. Last Saturday, I had the privilege of meeting my Aunt Evelyn, Uncle Charlie, Uncle Jim and Aunt Carol for breakfast. My husband Bill, cousin Evelyn and I got to hear some of the stories.

With little education, young Roy tried to make money in any way that he could. He had many odd jobs. Uncle Charlie recalled many stories that Grandpa had shared with him when they were working together on projects. Charlie said that there was a business in Elmwood Place where Grandpa was able to work with a variety of tools. Charlie said that Grandpa was a great "duplicator." He apparently could analyze how almost anything worked and make copies of it. This led to his eventual employment as a "machinist."

Aunt Evelyn recalled the difficult times of the Great Depression. Grandpa was unemployed. He supported his family by accepting any odd jobs he could get. At the time, many homes were heated with coal. She recalled that Grandpa could earn 25 cents for moving a TON of coal! Grandma put her sewing skills to work and was paid for clothing she made, including suits. (Interestingly, I remember asking my mother about how the family survived the Depression and she didn't feel like the family suffered. She made the comment that Great-Grandpa had a shoe store, and that shoes are a necessity regardless of the economy. She felt that they were in a much better position than many other families).

Aunt Evelyn said that due to Grandpa's ability to fix almost anything, they weren't the recipients of "new" toys. She said that he would see all kinds of toys thrown out in the trash and that he would bring them home and fix them up.

When first married, Grandma and Grandpa lived with her parents, as did Grandma's brother Val, and his wife, Clara. They lived in a big, beautiful home on Springfield Pike in Wyoming that was torn down and is the current site of the Wyoming Board of Education. The arrangement continued until Clara gave birth to Dolly and Virginia (Grandma) gave birth to my mother. Aunt Evelyn said that Roy wasn't really too excited about the prospect of moving out because his mother-in-law, Anna, was a fantastic cook.

The young family lived in Elmwood Place. The 1923 City Directory lists their address as 158 W. 73rd St. Roy's occupation is listed as a "machinist." About 1925, the family purchased the family home located at 415 Worthington in Wyoming. Aunt Evelyn said that they purchased the home for $7000 in 1925.

When I first started writing about Roy Ryan, I commented that I suffered from "too much" material. I put together a photoshow that includes some of my favorite photos of Grandpa. You can view it (and I hope you do) by clicking on this link.

Raymond Mathew Ryan and "Etta" Wulfekuhl

Raymond Mathew Ryan was the 9th of nine children born to James Hugh and Rose.  He was born on August 3, 1904 and was baptized at St. Aloysius Church in Elmwood Place. His brother (and my grandfather), Roy, was four years older than Ray. But as Roy is in my direct line, I will discuss him last.  

Ray was only nine years old when his father died and seven when his older brother James died.  His parents had already lost two children to scarlet fever.  From a young age, Ray lived in a family where things were  quite difficult financially.

Ray married Henrietta "Etta" Wulfekuhl on October 3, 1928. As newlyweds Ray's mother, Rose, continued to live with them in their home in Norwood.  In the 1930 Census, Ray's occupation was listed as "paymaster for a paper company".  As I understand it, life was not easy for Ray and his wife, Etta as they apparently lived in a few rooms on the second floor of a building with their three children.  Over time, however, Ray and his wife achieved the middle class dream.  Ray built a couple of homes and he and his wife had three beautiful children: Mary Agnes (who married Vincent DiBenedetto), Patricia Ann (who married Robert Beiderman), and James Hugh (who married Peg Hoffmann).  The picture below includes Mary, Ray, Jim, Etta, and Patsy.

I hope to update this when I've had the opportunity to connect with Diane DiBenedeto, another family historian married to a descendant of Ray and Etta.  My Aunt Evelyn remembers both with such fondness.  She says that Etta was a truly joyful woman and one she admired greatly.  Apparently she had a tremendous sense of humor and exuded a calm, self-confidence.  Ray eventually worked as an "efficiency expert", working with factory workers to improve productivity.  The picture below portrays a family that emerged from difficult times to achieve the "American Dream".

One of my favorite pictures was taken by Bill Batchelor, Jr. It includes three of the Ryan sisters (Rose, Florence and Bea) and their brother, Ray.  The only thing that would have made the picture better for me would be if it included my grandfather, and their brother, Roy.

Here is a picture of Ray and Etta. What a handsome couple!

Mary Beatrice "Bea" Ryan and Albert Lammert

Bea, as she was known, was born on June 27, 1902, the 8th of nine children.  By then the family was living in Elmwood Place.  Bea was baptized at St. Aloysius.  She was only 11 years old when her father died of pneumonia and the family was plunged into poverty.  She met and married Albert Lammert on June 24, 1926.

The family lived in Price Hill in a home that was built by Bea's husband and father-in-law.  Bea and Albert were the parents of four children:  Albert (who later married Patricia Ann Miller), Mary (who married James Bill), Margaret and Richard.  Over the past few days, I've had the opportunity to talk to Pat, Mary, and Margaret.

All three tell me of a woman who loved a party and who was an excellent cook.  The family had a home in Price Hill that was built by Al and his father.  The two of them were carpenters and had their own business until the depression.  Later Al joined a company and worked as a millwright.

Once again in our family history we have an Irish-German marriage.  Bea, true to her Ryan roots, however, loved to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.   They had a bar in the basement and loved to entertain.  Aunt Evelyn tells me that she felt close to this family, in part because there were four children in this family as there were four in hers.  Playing cards was one of the main forms of entertainment for this generation.

The picture that emerged from our conversations was one of a very happy, content person who enjoyed life and brought joy to the lives of all those she encountered.  I'm going to see if I can get a picture of her husband, Al, from one of the many descendants of this couple.

A Sunday in God-Years by Michelle Boisseau

As someone who finds herself immersed in the history of her family, imagine my surprise and delight when I discovered A Sunday in God-Years by Michelle Boisseau.  Michelle is the granddaughter of Florence Ryan and FitzPatrick Boisseau.

I was not aware of the history of the Boisseau family at all -- if I had a family with as interesting a history as this family, I would feel compelled to write a book about them, too.  But Michelle is a poet -- and I could never duplicate her way with words.

Her book lists nine generations of Boisseaus. (You can view the history by clicking on the image and then magnifying it). The first generation of immigrants came from France in 1685.  They were Huguenots (French Protestants). Since our family is largely Catholic, I was surprised to read that the initial immigrant was Rev. James Boisseau and his wife Sarah Holmes.  I wonder if the transition to "Catholic" occurred when Florence Ryan came into the picture.

One section of her book is titled "Fitz Patrick Boisseau".  This name is woven through multiple generations of the Boisseau family.  To use Michelle's words:

Odd name.  Yoked way back.  It was the name of my good brother, Pat, the name of my talented fuckup of a father, John Fitz Patrick Boisseau, died of wounds received fighting for the Confederacy.

. . . Each man supported the name "Fitz Patrick Boisseau" like a family cowlick or cancer . . .

My dead brother, Pat, spent twenty years on the warm side of brilliant, funny, kind, admirable, then thirty-three years wandering the woods of the madlands where devils hang like possums from branches, where Jesus is a volcano, and like a hank of hair your soul is yanked from your body by a passing pickup while you talk on a pay phone to your sister.

I am nothing but curious now.  Is this quote a literal account of how Pat died?  If so, how tragic.  I've always found it a challenge to discuss mental illness in any of its forms.  Her language moves me.  I feel the pain.

Today I visited Spring Grove Cemetery in search of graves.  Three generations of Fitz Patrick Boisseaus are buried there, as well as my Great-Aunt Florence and Pat's second wife, Lois.  They are not all in the same plot and I stopped checking after finding this grave.

I know there are some good things that came from all of this.  On one of the interviews Michelle gave, she discussed  a book her father gave her that had been in the family for some time. It was a book written by Longfellow that had been given to Michelle's grandfather in the 1890s. Her father, Pat, presented it to her when she received her PhD.

I hope that Michelle and her siblings find this blog and gain understanding by reading about their "Ryan" side of the family.  The more I learn about my ancestors, the more blessed I feel on every level.

PRX Radio Interview   This is a link to a radio interview Michelle did for her university.  Very interesting.

Read Michelle Boisseau's response in the comment section below.

Florence Ryan Boisseau and FitzPatrick Boisseau

I love the stories -- and boy does Florence Margaret Ryan have one.  Florence, born December 30, 1895, was truly the middle child of James Hugh and Rose Ryan.  She was the fifth of nine children.

Florence married FitzPatrick Boisseau, a Southern Gentleman, who grew up in Richmond, Virginia.  Mr. Boisseau was a Freight Manager for the railroads and came to Cincinnati about 1888.  Much of what I learned about Florence and her husband was told by her granddaughter, Michelle Boisseau, on a youtube video.  Click on the link Virginia in Verse and start playing at about minute 33.

The Boisseau grandchildren never knew their grandfather, as he died at the age of 77 in 1941.  On the video Michelle says that her grandfather, whom she describes as an elderly gentleman, met Florence in a drug store where she worked as a pharmacist.  She speculates that her grandfather, who was 58 years old when he married Florence on October 24, 1925, "was looking for a young wife . . . to take care of him."  As there was a 28 year difference in their ages, I think that is a fair observation.

I'm trying to put myself in Florence's position.  I imagine the years when she was growing up, the family was typical of many at that time, as it is unfair to compare their standard of living with what we consider to be middle class today.  She was 18 years old when her father died, leaving the family in poverty.  She was 30 years old and unmarried when this older gentleman showed an interest and the promise of a comfortable life.  Who wouldn't consider it?

In addition, Florence became the mother of a son, FitzPatrick Boisseau, in 1926.  When "Pat" was just 12 years old, his father died leaving Florence a widow.  Florence doted on her only child and he was provided with every advantage.  He attended Summit, an elite private school in Cincinnati.  He was extremely bright and landed a job in both radio and television in Cincinnati.  Apparently his privileged background did not provide him with the coping skills needed to deal with a wife and nine children.  Their marriage ended in divorce.

The April 1, 1996 obituary published in the Cincinnati Post included this information:

Veteran Cincinnati broadcast newsman Fitz Patrick ''Pat'' Boisseau, 69, died Saturday at Mount Washington Care Center. Mr. Boisseau spent more than 30 years in broadcast news here on both WLW radio and WKRC-TV. Between 1951 and 1952, he worked for the U.S. Information Service as a radio officer in Bangkok, Thailand. He left WKRC-TV in 1963. He joined WLW in 1967, where he remained until 1982.

A more realistic portrayal of the family history was found on a posting re: Michelle.  For the full story, go to PoetryNet.org

Michelle Boisseau was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1955, into a family that by 1964 grew to baseball-team size: Fitz Patrick (Pat), Jonathan, Michelle, Madeline, Nancy, Robert, Charles, Barbara, Denise. Her parents had long ties with Cincinnati, though Boisseau's paternal grandfather had come from Virginia and was a descendent of Huguenots who fled France in 1685. In the mid 1960's their mother, a commercial artist, returned to work when her husband, a radio and television news broadcaster, had a series of manic episodes. Boisseau's parents separated and were later divorced.

I'm going to deviate from my normal pattern and post some information about the Boisseau family history in the next post.  Michelle made the job easy by publishing a  book.  It is so interesting.  Stay tuned.

"Rose" Mary Agnes Ryan and William G. Batchelor

Five of the nine children born to James Hugh and Rose Ryan were girls. Margaret Mary "Agnes" died when she was almost 8 of scarlet fever and pneumonia. Mary Julia Cecilia was born September 7, 1890. She married J.J. Gill of Chicago, IL on October 18, 1918. In less than two years (October 8, 1918) she was dead. As she died before my Aunt Evelyn or Uncle Jim were born, I've not been able to find anyone who remembers her story.

Three sisters lived long lives: Rose Batchelor, Bea Lammert, and Florence Ryan. This post will discuss Rose.

"Rose" Mary Agnes Ryan was born on May 18, 1892 in Louisville, KY.  This is a mystery to me because I am not aware that the family every lived in Louisville.

On May 8, 1913 Rose became the wife of William (Bill) G. Batchelor.  This was less than six months before Rose's father, James Hugh, died of pneumonia. Rose had "guts".  Her husband, Bill, had been raised an Episcopalian.  I'm sure that she rightly assumed that her parents would not look favorably on a marriage to a "non-Catholic", so she and Bill eloped.

My cousin, Mike Ryan, and his wife, Doloures, met with Rose and took notes on her "story".  Rose told them that she and Bill met at a Cigar Shop that was located at 5th and Walnut.  At the time he worked in a theater and was a "shipper of film".  She told them that she and Bill caught a train at Pearl and Butler Streets and traveled to Maysville, KY.  They were married there by Judge Rice.

I can just imagine how "thrilled" her parents were when she returned.  They were soon "remarried" by Fr. Flynn in the library of St. Xavier Church downtown.  Bill eventually converted and became a Catholic shortly before he died.

Bill continued to work in movie theaters as a projectionist.  The technology looks so primitive by today's standards.  I wonder what Bill would think about our capability to watch movies on our cell phones or computers?

Rose and Bill became the parents of one son -- William Batchelor.  Rose enjoyed painting and a few of her pieces are still placed with various relatives.  Aunt Evelyn also told me that Rose raised and sold bull dogs.

Rose cared for her mother in her home for the last 17 years of her life. I understand that that was difficult as she had to be in a hospital bed and it was a challenge to move her.  Hopefully, I will be able to learn a little more about Rose and Bill and add to their story.


P.S.  Both Aunt Evelyn and my brother, Tom, called to remind me that Rose and Bill had a summer home on the Ohio River out in New Richmond.  Tom says he remembers going out there and that although the house was not right on the river, it had a big wrap-around deck from which you could see the river.  In his travels, Tom has tried to identify where the house might have been.  He speculates that when they built the new dam system and almost doubled the pool stage of the river that perhaps the area did not survive.  I wish I could remember.

Update:  Jim Ryan, Jr. wrote with this update today:  Kath, I do know the true story about Uncle Bill Batchelor.  Before he turned Catholic, they had a summer home in Moscow, OH.  One year they left the summer home to come home to Cincinnati.  Then in February that year, the river flooded and it was his job to bring in the statue of the Blessed Virgin.  He had to go back to Moscow to put the Blessed Virgin in the house. 

When he came home, he told Aunt rose that there was about two inches of water on the ground, but around the statue, it was dry.  I have his statue!


Thanks for the story, Jim.

 

James Nicholas Ryan

This is one of my favorite family photos.  The first time I saw it, I recognized his face right away.  If I show it to family members and ask them who it reminds them of, they all see the likeness of my nephew, Christopher.  That's pretty amazing, since James would be a gg-uncle to Christopher -- hardly a close genetic relative.

James was the first of nine children born to James Hugh and Rose Ryan.  He was born on April 28, 1889 and baptized at St. Peter in Chains Cathedral.  James' story has always intrigued me because he died tragically of diphtheria on May 1, 1911  -- just days after he turned 22 years old.  Family notes say that he died aboard the U.S. Ship "Virginia" while it was docked in the Boston Navy Yards.  As I stated in an earlier post, his father was so devastated that he insisted on verifying that it was, in fact, his son inside the coffin when it was returned to Elmwood Place.  He just couldn't believe that his first-born could have died in the prime of his life.

The family story surrounding James is quite interesting and one I hope to investigate further.  Our version goes something like this. James dreamed of joining the Navy.  He was so interested in joining that at the age of 17, before he was old enough to volunteer, he used his father's name, James H., to sign up early.  (I question this, but that's the story).

While in the Navy he was apparently at sea in a fleet of three ships when the propeller on one of the ships broke.  With one of the ship's disabled, the fleet could no longer continue on its mission.  Somehow the commanders of the ship became aware of the fact that James' father was a "brass molder" and that James N. knew something about the process.  They were able to remove the damaged prop and James was able to use materials aboard ship and mold a replacement blade.  This enabled the fleet of ships to continue on their mission.

As a result of this there was a change in Navy policy and all new ships had a "foundry" aboard ship to enable them to do onboard repairs.  In addition, "the story" is that a building was named after James, but it was called the "James Hugh Ryan" building vs. James Nicolas since he had signed up using his father's name and that's how he was known in the Navy.  He was also honored with a flag from the ship.  My mother had that flag and when she was going through things before her death, she asked me if I thought we should keep it.  Not understanding what it was, or its significance, it ended up on the pitch pile.  Oh how I, and my cousin Mike, regret that decision now.

Now my curiosity is overwhelming.  There must be some truth to his lying about his age because I located James' Death Certificate in Massachusetts.  This is the information from it:

Name: James N Ryan

Death date: 01 May 1911

Death place: Boston,,Massachusetts

Gender: Male

Race or color (expanded): White

Age in years: 25

Estimated birth year: 1886

Birth date: 1886

Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio

Marital status: Single

Father's name: J H Ryan

Film number: 2393942

Digital GS number: 4283225

Image number: 00801

Reference number: 738

Collection: Massachusetts, Death Records, 1841 - 1915

The estimated birth year seems to support "the story's" claim that James falsified his age in order to join the Navy early.  Today I plan to submit a records request to the National Archives to see what parts of the story can be supported by his actual file.  It's difficult for me to accept that people in the prime of their life could die from something we vaccinate for and prevent today.  How nice it was to even have to look up diphtheria as it is not something that is part of our 21st Century lives.  I'll keep you posted on what I find out after I get the file from the National Archives.

Note:  Based on the NARA records and some newly-found cousins, this post has been updated.  Please refer to posts on this topic that begin on January 31, 2011.

James Hugh and "Rose" Gross Ryan -- My Great-Grandparents - Part II

I've yet to find out why my g-grandparents got married in Ottenheim, KY.  In putting this post together, I tried to put together everything I knew about "Rose" Gross Ryan.  Surprisingly, it appears as if Rose was actually living in Cincinnati before James Hugh.

Rose's parents are Charles C. Gross from Wuerttemberg, Germany and  Rose Becker from Lorraine, France.  (Alsace-Lorraine is a territory that shifted back and forth between France and Germany.  The family, although citizens of France, were ethnically German). The 1900 Census lists the date of immigration for Rose Becker as 1860.  (A later Census lists the date of immigration as 1855).This is an interesting fact because further investigation may allow Rose's parents to be submitted to the Hamilton County Genealogical Society for a "Settlers and Builders" designation.  This designation is available for any direct ancestors that can be "proved" to be living in Cincinnati before 1861.

So here is what I know about "Rose" Gross:

Rose was born on May 2, 1865 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Rose married James Hugh Ryan on June 27, 1888.

James Hugh and Rose were the parents of nine children.  Three of them died before 1911 -- two of scarlet fever and one of diphtheria.

Rose became a widow of six children when her husband died of pneumonia in 1913.

Mary Julia Cecilia Ryan married J.J. Gill of Chicago.  She died of the flu during the 1918 flu pandemic at the age of 28.

As a result of Hugh's death, her 7th child, Roy, had to drop out of school at the age of 13 to help support the family.

Once when I was asking my aunt what she recalled about Rose, she said that Rose didn't seem to be able to manage money.  I then asked, "What money?"  Again, this was a time before Social Security.  What was a woman with young children supposed to do?

The family was so poor that when James Hugh died, he was buried in a "single" unmarked grave at St. John's Cemetery.  The three children were buried in a plot owned by Anton Beckerle.  Rose was also buried in a "single" grave that is not located next to her husband's grave.  None of the graves are marked.

After becoming widowed, Rose lived with and was supported by her children.  In here older age, she moved back and forth between the homes of her daughter's, Rose and  Florence.

Just to keep me on my toes, there were three generations of girls with the given name of "Rose".

When Rose was growing up with her widowed mother, the family lived with Rose's old Becker siblings Catherine, Nicolas and Victor.  The1880 Census lists an extended family of 8 running a stamping and embroidery shop on West 6th Street in Cincinnati.Rose is listed as "working in the store". She obviously learned to embroider.

One of the family's treasures is the lining of a hat that belonged to James Hugh.  Someone in the family had the foresight to keep that lining.  Luckily for us, my mother wrote on the reverse side of the hat liner that it had been embroidered by Rose for her husband, J. Ryan.  Pictures don't due the item justice.  It includes a beautifully embroidered bird.

This is the only evidence we have of what was obviously a loving and caring relationship between my g-grandparents. I'm so glad we have it.