Dominick Malatesta: Fireman

Your great great grandfather, Dominick Malatesta, was a Chicago fireman. I found this article in the Chicago Tribune dated 8 NOV 1872, announcing his transition from a probationary member of the Fire Dept. to a regular member. This occurred a year and a month after the Great Chicago Fire.

District Meet Programs

Here are downloadable programs from District Meets of yesteryear. We have the series from 1965 through 1975, excluding 1973, which may yet turn up in my diggings.

• 1965
• 1966
• 1967
• 1968
• 1969
• 1970
• 1971
• 1972
• 1974
• 1975

Where the Bodies are Buried

I received a death certificate for your grandmother, Kathleen Ware Glass, in addition to death certs for her mother (Mayme Orne Ware), her aunts (Emily Orne Hitchcock and Nellie Ware), and her uncle Freeman Orne. All died in the Los Angeles area. When I got the certs back, I was surprised to see that Nellie was listed as being buried in the Sunset View Cemetery* in Berkeley (now El Cerrito). So I requested her cemetery record, hoping to see if her husband Thomas Ware and/or your great grandfather, Charles Bennett Ware (Thomas' brother) were buried there as well. Per Arden, Kathleen and her mother had lived in Berkeley for a while, and Kathleen had attended Cal prior to marrying Joseph Glass.

I was surprised to find that the whole bunch of them (except Thomas Ware and Emily Hitchcock) were buried in Berkeley. The best new information was pinpointing Charles Bennett Ware's burial date (2 FEB 1929) --- up till now, I only knew that he died between 1920 and 1930. I imagined that he'd probably died in Illinois (they lived in Oak Park in 1920), and after his death Kathleen and her mother moved west to make a new start. Now it seems most likely that they all moved to Berkeley around the time Kathleen entered Cal, and Charles died a few years later.

Here is their headstone:



UPDATE: The two plots are side-by-side, but there is no marker for Kathleen's plot, even though the cemetery records indicate there is a monument there. At some point we may need to buy her a headstone. There is also no marker indicating that the remains of Nellie and Freeman are interred/inurned here. I need to follow up on that.
-------------------------------
* Financial Services mogul Dean Witter is buried here

Hubbard Wilson McKoy's OBIT

I was thrilled to find an obit for Hubbard Wilson McKoy (your great³ grandfather) in the Mountain Democrat Newspaper which served El Dorado County, CA. H W McKoy died in 1895. This article reprints an obit from the Santa Cruz Sentinel, and comments upon it. It was an especially "meaty" obit, since it detailed his life in El Dorado county (in the area above Placerville.)


(Click to biggify the image)



McKoy also contributed to the growth and development of Felton:

Other major components of the industry in Felton at this time were the lime kilns; by 1878 Felton was putting out $200,000 worth of lime annually. Limestone powder is a necessary part of concrete and mortar. The lime was shipped to Santa Cruz via the new railway. Many prosperous companies had their start in this ear; the Henry Cowell Ranch kilns just south of town; the IXL Kilns and the Holmes Lime Kiln quarries to the west of town.

From this industry in the 1870's the town developed the usual suspects; in short order there came a general store, a hotel and a saloon (built by Walter Cooper and JM Merrill); a man named Hubbard McKoy, Vermonter, opened a private post office and hauled mail; the same McKoy later opened a blacksmith's with master blacksmith Potter Paschall in charge; James F Cunningham and McKoy opened another general store in 1871, in anticipation of the settlement's growth. A constable and a justice of the peace set up shop there in 1878. Even the school district, which had been founded in 1863 at Ashley's on the San Lorenzo River, changed its name to the Felton School District and moved into town in 1875 to reflect the facts of population density in the valley. For by 1880 the majority of people in the San Lorenzo Valley lived Felton."

source: http://www.feltonfire.com/pictures/feltonhistory.html

An Orne Family Photo & Nellie's Passport

I was extraordinarily fortunate this last month to have been put in touch with M. Dale, a wonderful contact who has encyclopedic knowledge of the Higgins and Orne families. She was extremely generous with her time, and provided photos and information I'd never have had access to otherwise.

One of the best items was this photo of the Orne family. Ellen Higgins Orne is in the center, surrounded by her children. The date of this photo is likely the period between 1904 and 1913 - the time after Eben died, but while Ellen was still living.

Your great-grandmother, Mayme Orne Ware is in the lower right (you can see a resemblance to Tim). Years later, she, Freeman ("Uncle Free"), Nellie and Emily were all living in the Los Angeles area --- and they were all L.A.-area residents at the time of their deaths. Mayme and Nellie married the Ware brothers. Charles Ware (Mayme's husband) died between 1920 and 1930. Thomas was still alive in 1930, the last public census (until the 1940 census is released in 2012).



I also found Nellie Orne Ware's passport application (Click image to biggify):

Carl Raysor's Family Who Came Before

Carl Raysor was married with a family prior to meeting and marrying Helen Maltesta. The only thing we knew about this was from what Helen told Arden after Carl's death: Carl was married before and had a family, but they all died. Arden thought they'd died in a fire, but couldn't recall clearly, and she said she was so shocked by the news that she never asked her mother another thing about it.

Last Fall I was able to locate what I thought were the records of his first wife and two children. I've finally received the documentation supporting those findings, in the form of death certficates and cemetery records.

Carl's first wife was Alice Frances Clifford of Sacramento. They married in 1913. In 1916, their first child, Frances Harriet Raysor, was born. She died in 1917 of tubercular meningitis. In 1921, a son, Carl Raymond Raysor, was born. He died in 1922 when he was about 9 months old, also of tubercular meningitis. In 1925, Alice died of pulmonary tuberculosis. She'd had it for seven years. All three are buried in Sacramento's IOOF Cemetery.

Meet your great great great Grandparents

Meet Joseph Higgins and Mary Greer Higgins, your great-great-great grandparents. I was really lucky this week to be put in touch with a woman who has comprehensively documented the Higgins line, and she has a lot of photos in addition to family lore - these are two of the photos from her collection. She's been extremely generous in sharing information about the Higgins and Orne families.

Around 1861, Joseph and Mary moved to the Dubuque, Iowa area from Morrill, Maine. Mary died in Iowa in 1862 at the age of 54. Mary's father, James Greer, fought in the Revolutionary War (his Revolutionary War pension file is 99 pages long, much of it hand-written, and I'm still parsing that data).

A TR connection?

Today, I received a book -- a History of the San Lorenzo Valley, and inside, a cursory look revealed both a story about Bessie Glass helping to catch a diamond thief, and a photo of the Grand Central Hotel (of which Joseph was half-owner starting in 1905, and eventually ran in 1909.)

Taking another look at a photo (Felton Townspeople) that Sarah had provided, I was able to ID the building in the "Felton Townspeople" photo as also being the Grand Central Hotel. (The lady with the bicycle is Lucy Ball.) It also figures in several other Felton photographs from Sarah.

So what's the deal with Teddy Roosevelt? Well, biggify the top photo, and check out the 4th guy from the left. I mentioned off-handedly to Jeff, "Hey, look: Teddy Roosevelt!" At first, we were like, yeah, right, everybody looked like TR in those days. But then, looking at the facts, it didn't sound so crazy...

Why it might be TR:

• Teddy Roosevelt visited Felton in May 1903 to dedicate Big Basin State Park (he was instrumental in saving the redwoods here) - the photo is consistent with the time frame;
• Joseph Ball was county Supervisor at the time of Roosevelt's visit; he likely would have been part of the welcoming committee (I suspect that Joseph Ball is in this photo, but there's no way to identify him);
• Clothing is consistent with May weather. Some of the men are wearing straw boaters; Lucy is in white cotton.
• The Felton TR lookalike is holding up the kid that looks like Charlie McCarthy. That seems like something TR would do during a photo opp.

Why it probably isn't TR:

• Felton guy is a little frayed around the edges. TR was a dandy.
• When TR visited the San Lorenzo Valley, 12,000 people showed up. It would appear that if this were TR, there would be a crowd.

The probability is very low, but it's been a fun ponderable..... we need Archie from C.S.I. to do a biometric analysis.

Annie McCoy Ball's Obit

Last weekend we took a field trip to the Boulder Creek Library where we spent the day scrolling through microfilm looking at old issues of the "Mountain Echo," a newspaper published for the San Lorenzo Valley (Felton, Boulder Creek, Ben Lomond, etc.) around the turn of the century (about 1895 - 1915).

After wrestling with ancient microfilm technology (and reading through 167 ads for remedies for piles and catarrh), we came away with a ream of info on family members from the Felton area. The best find was a good obituary for your great-great grandmother (Annie McCoy Ball) who died suddenly at the age of 45. Here's the transcription:

DEATH OF MRS. ANNIE L BALL

Mrs Annie Letitia Ball, wife of Supervisor Joseph Ball, died suddenly and unexpectedly at the family apartments in the Hotel Ben Lomond last Sunday night at 10:30 o'clock. Mrs Ball had been subject to attacks of heart trouble during the past year and it was one of these that caused her sudden taking off as stated above, the immediate cause of death being diagnosed as paralysis of the heart.

Mrs Ball had been about her duties as usual the day before her death and seemed to be as well as usual and in good spirits. There was nothing to indicate her being called so suddenly. Like a thunderbolt from a clear sky the shaft of the destroyer came and in a few minutes after it struck the wife and mother had passed from the earth.

The funeral took place Tuesday afternoon and was largely attended. The home services were held at the Hotel Ben Lomond at one o'clock. Rev Wm Hicks, of the Presbyterian church of this place, officiating. The remains were then taken by the afternoon train to Santa Cruz, accompanied by many other friends and a long procession of carriages
wended its way to the Odd Fellow's cemetery, where the impressive burial services were conducted by Isabella Rebekah Lodge, I. O. O. F., of Santa Cruz, of which Mrs Ball was a member in good standing. Court adjourned and all of the county officials attended. Many beautiful floral pieces testified to the sympathy and good will of friends and the esteem in which deceased (sic) was held. Interment was in the family plot in the Odd Fellow's cemetery.

Mrs Annie L. Ball was a sister of Mrs L N Hayes, Mrs T B Hubbard and Mrs G C West, all of San Jose, and was the second daughter of Mr and Mrs H. W. McKoy, old residents of Felton, where her life from girlhood, until recently, has been passed. She was united in marriage to Mr Jos. Ball in the early seventies. Three children blessed the union, one deceased, and the two daughters, Lucy and Bessie, now grown to womanhood, and left to mourn the loss of a faithful, devoted mother. Mrs. Ball was a native of El Dorado county, this state, and was aged 45 years at the time of her death. Her bereaved family have the sincere sympathy of a wide circle of friends in their great and unexpected affliction.

DATE: 16 MAR 1901

Also found an obituary for your great-great grandfather, John Glass. He had no funeral ceremony other than the I.O.O.F. rites:

The funeral of John Glass took place in Santa Cruz last Sunday at 11 AM from Odd Fellow's Hall and the interment was in the Odd Fellow's cemetery. There was no ceremony other than the burial service of the order, which was used both in the hall and at the grave. The pall bearers were: A M Fraser, Dan Hartman, G P Lane and Thos Maddock of Boulder Creek; Jas. H Curtis of Felton and Prof W T Forsyth of Santa Cruz.

Date: 28 JUN 1902

The Mystery of the Uniform

Of all the photos Sarah has shared with us, this is one of my favorites. It's your great grandfather, Charles Bennett Ware (Kathleen Ware's father), in full uniform. I asked Sarah about the uniform, but she didn't have any info on his military service.

I once did a drawing of Teddy Roosevelt which featured a pin identical to the one on Ware's hat, and because it seemed he would have been of age to fight in the Spanish American War, I started by researching uniforms from that war. I got a match. Next, I looked up Spanish American War service records and got a hit on Charles Ware. Turns out, he served as a corporal in the Spanish American War, in Company E of the Illinois Infantry.

Recent coverage of Latin Mass at St Margaret Mary Church

KTVU coverage of the Traditional Latin Mass at St Margaret Mary Church in Oakland, CA on Easter (23 March) 2008.

Click the image to biggify it. It's an item your Dad sent in to a Herb Caen wannabe:

Arden and the Junior Women's Club

Click image to biggify:



You'll note that her beehive is woefully nonexistent. She should have consulted with Miss Pat or Miss Helen about getting bigger hair:

Passenger List for the Andrew Foster

You'll need to click the image below to enlarge it...

This is from the passenger manifest for the ship the Andrew Foster, from Liverpool to New York which arrived 9 JAN 1854. The entire manifest is here. I'm not sure, but there's a good chance this is your great-great-grandfather, John Glass (1841-1902), the father of Will Glass who went to the Yukon. The emigration date matches up to what he stated for the census, and he has a brother named Charles (a name which appears throughout the Glass family tree); so far, nothing to suggest this is not the same John Glass.

But the thing I want to call to your attention is the story behind the manifest. The mother (age 40) is travelling with the five children; the father is not on the manifest --- I'd guess that he may have come over during the famine years to earn money, then sent for them later, but that's purely speculation. (I did find a John Glass who arrived in NY in 1852.) So, the mother, Isabella, is travelling with John, age 12; [illegible] son, age 9; Charles, age 6; James, age 4; and Margaret, age 2. Now, scroll over to the far right column, in which it is noted the the mother, Isabella, died on December 15th (in transit), James and Margaret died on December 13th. My eyes well up just typing this. I just hope a father was waiting at the docks to meet them --- I can't imagine what it would have been like to be a 12-year old boy with his 9- and 6-year-old brothers in tow, alone in the streets of New York (they would have ended up on orphan trains were that the case.)

Walter J Maltesta and the 1920 GOP Convention

This article appeared in newspapers across the midwest. Walter J Malatesta (1887 - ?) was George Maltesta's (1878-1957) younger brother. I have about a 80% degree of confidence that the Walter in the article is the same Walter that was George's brother. I don't have much info on Walter. He was born in 1887. In 1910 he was a "Private Secy"; in 1917 he was a "Retail Sales Manager"; in 1920 he was manager at an ice company; in 1930, he was an investment banker. He was married to "Marian C.". He was the youngest in the family and his mother died when he was a toddler.

Transcription:

L.W. Henley and Walter J. Malatesta are the most popular persons in Chicago. The former is secretary of the arrangements committee and the latter is secretary of the Chicago convention committee.

They were nearly mobbed when ticket distribution took place. Malatesta had the worst time trying to divide 2,658 tickets --- Chicago's allotment for those who contributed the money for staging the big show --- among 150,000 applicants.

"I got 73,000 checks from people who wanted to buy tickets," said Malatesta. "It hurt like the dickens to return all that cash."

Helen Maltesta a Hit in Theatre Performance

This is from the 17 SEP 1926 San Mateo Times. Text:

"Helen Maltesta gave an impersonation of Pat Rooney in a dance number that scored a big hit. Cleverly costumed and excellent in her performance, the little lady was an instant success."

Not certain if this is the performing troupe that Helen joined that caused the rift with her father.

Arden's Departure for Hawaii + Carl's Obit

Here is the whole newspaper page (Oak Tribune, Thursday 26 Mar 1953), announcing Arden's Hawaii trip.

I also found Carl's Obit:



... and lastly, Arden and Bill's Wedding Announcement (click to enlarge):

Myrtle Kalas

Many members of the Kalas family are buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, so having seen their headstones (and given the Star Trek connection), this family held special interest for me.

I've been fortunate in being able to find several items in the Oakland Tribune's archives on various family members, including several colorful ones involving Myrtle Kalas. The first was her "coming out" party, which featured a dramatic reading by Helen Maltesta (who was then about 12 years old):



(Click to enlarge)

When I showed this article to your Mom, she laughed. She was familiar with all the names of the attendees, and far from being a High Society Deb party, this was pretty much a family birthday party with classmates and young relatives in attendance.

The second article "Local Cupid Snubbed by 15-yr-old Neighbor" describes how Myrtle, when working in the Alameda County Recorder's office (next door to the marriage bureau), opted to apply for a marriage license in San Jose rather than have the snoopy marriage bureau employees find out about her impending nuptials. It was a whirlwind romance: Myrtle and Benjamin were engaged after knowing each other just three weeks:

When your great grandfather, George Maltesta moved alone to San Francisco, Eleanor and Helen moved in with the Kalas family (Anthony Kalas and his wife, Lucy, who was Eleanor's sister. The kids included Myrtle, Anthony, Charles "Quisty", Dolly and Bud.) Helen married Carl Raysor soon thereafter. William Lavery (Eleanor and Lucy's brother) also lived with the Kalases.

War of 1812 - Joseph Orne's Service

I am researching Joseph Orne's service in the War of 1812, since I had read a comment previously that he had been a POW in Ontario during that war. Today I found abstracts from the payrolls of regiments stationed at Burlington, VT. This is a "pay roll of a company of infantry commanded by Catpain Benjamin S Edgerton, of the Eleventh Regiment of th United States, for the months of September and October 1812":

(You can click to enlarge.)

He is listed here with an Ebenezer Orne. Not certain which Ebenezer this is -- there are several in the family. My hunch is that he's a family member. Joseph had a son named Ebenezer, born in 1796, and it's most likely him.

Keep in mind that I'm simply guessing that this Joseph Orne maps to the Joseph Orne in our tree (all I have is a name and a state to go by) but I do not yet have the pension files or other documentation to verify this. My degree of confidence is about 85%.

Will Glass / E J Rubottom Photo

This is E J Rubottom and Will Glass - they traveled to the Yukon together and were related. E J was married to Nellie Hickey, Will's Cousin (they had the same grandparents, Patrick and Bridget Hickey).

E J Rubottom was an interesting guy. I found four patent applications issued to him (you can see one here), two of which were beer-related. Another invention was mentioned in a local paper, but I haven't found the patent application, yet.

Jim Shaw (who is descended from the Hickeys) gave me this photo. He is extremely knowledgeable about Felton history and these families. Here's what he said:

"BTW, Mary Shaw's father, Michael Hickey, was foreman of the Lime Kilns for Henry Cowell. We have a very pretty bowl, made in Prussia, that was a gift to Michael from Henry Cowell. Also at the ranch are large portraits of Michael Hickey and his wife Catherine Quinn Hickey. They are buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Santa Cruz.

"In addition to Mary and Nellie, there were two boys, John, who died in a train wreck two years to the day before Frank Shaw was killed in 1900, and Dan Hickey, who was wharfinger on the Santa Cruz wharf. He was found drowned off the wharf in 1923 and the family always suspected bootleggers.

"Dan's daughter Kate married and had a son, Harold Soper. After she was widowed she married a cousin, Charlie Glass, also an engineer on the South Pacific Coast. I interviewed Harold Soper about 1992, but my tape is packed away. I'll find it one of these days and transcribe it. I also interviewed Red Sinnott, another cousin from that side.

"Ok, I found the photo I was hoping to find. It's from a tintype I scanned. This is E. J. Rubottom, husband of Nellie Hickey, and Will Glass, when they went on the Alaskan Gold Rush."

I found this second photo in the book "Santa Cruz"--- a history of the Santa Cruz area:


Mary Hickey Shaw and Nellie Hickey Rubottom were sisters. They are your great-great aunts (granddaughters of your great-great-great-grandparents).

The date on this photo is incorrect. It was probably taken in 1913 at the time that Nellie was widowed (at which point she moved in with Mary, also a widow). Roy Shaw (the boy in the photo) was born in 1899.

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