births – Page 2 – Colleen & Jeff's Roots

#52Ancestors: My Great Grandmother Agnes Viola Elizabeth Maud Mara Died 43 Years Ago Today

My 48th entry in Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks family history blogging challenge.

The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.

My 48th ancestor is my great grandmother Agnes Viola Elizabeth Maud Mara (1893-1971), who went by the name Viola. I have mentioned Viola in posts about her father, mother, brother, and mystery half-brother, but I have never actually profiled my great grandmother. Since today marks the 43rd anniversary of her death, I thought it appropriate to introduce Great Grandmother Viola.

Viola Mara — My mom has had this photo on display in her home.

I am named after my great grandmother; my parents gave me Viola’s middle name Elizabeth as my own middle name. Thankfully, Mom did not name me after any of her grandmother’s other names — Viola, Agnes, or Maud. Viola Elizabeth is the only name by which Mom knew her grandmother. She was surprised when I uncovered that long list of legal names when I found Viola’s birth certificate a number of years ago.

Birth & Childhood

Viola was born 21 February 1893 in Guelph, Wellington County, Ontario, Canada. Her parents were Thomas Mara (b. 1858) and Anna Sophia Allen (b. 1871). She and her younger brother William James Mara (1894-1952) immigrated with their mother to the United States (Michigan) sometime around 1898. I have not yet found a border crossing record or a naturalization record for Viola, her mother, or her brother. I do not think her father Thomas came with the family.

From what I can tell about her mother’s shady past, Viola and William must have had a difficult upbringing and unstable home. I have not found the family on the 1900 or 1910 U.S. Census; it is like their mother Anna Sophia was living off the radar. Viola does not surface until the 1920 U.S. Census, when she was 27, married, and a mother.

Viola Mara's birth certificate — Viola’s birth certificate, courtesy of Ancestry.com.

Marriage & Children

Viola married my great grandfather James Bruce Hayes (1888-1970) on 02 January 1912 in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan. She was 18, he was 23. Viola and Bruce had nine children together, eight of whom reached adulthood. My grandmother Elsie Charlotte Hayes (1926-1992) was the seventh child. Bruce and Viola spent their marriage living in Royal Oak and Southfield, Michigan (both in Oakland County).

After Bruce divorced Viola, she moved out to Santa Fe Springs (Los Angeles County), California to live with her oldest son Bill and care for his children, and to be near my grandmother and Grandma’s older sister Cassie. I am told that I met Viola as a baby (I was not quite 2 years old when she died), but I do not have any memory of her or any photos with her.

Viola Mara, late in life — Viola, much later in life.

Death & Burial

My great grandmother Viola died on 06 December 1971, in Los Angeles County, California. It may have been in Santa Fe Springs, where she lived with her oldest son Bill (near my grandmother Elsie), but none of the records I have specify more than the county.

She is buried at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier (Los Angeles County), California.

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#52Ancestors: Scandal! My 2nd Great Grandmother’s Illegitimate Son, Herbert Gerald Allen

Ontario, Canada Births, 1869-1913. Courtesy of Ancestry.com.

My 6th week in Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” family history blogging challenge.

The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.

This week’s ~~ancestor~~ relation is my great grand uncle, Herbert Gerald ALLEN (1889 – ?), born in Guelph, Wellington County, Ontario, Canada.

Herbert first landed on my radar back in 2012, when I came across the Ontario, Canada Births, 1869-1913 database on Ancestry while searching for information about his mother Anna Sophia ALLEN (1871 – ?), my 2nd great grandmother (called “Mamie Grandma” by my mother and her siblings). But since I had never heard his name before, I ignored the record as a possible mistake. I have only ever heard of Mamie Grandma’s two other children Agnes Viola Elizabeth Maud MARA (aka “Viola”, 1893 – 1971), my great grandmother, and Viola’s younger brother William James MARA (1894 – 1952).

While reviewing past found documents a few weeks ago in preparation for my trip these past 8 days to the Family History Library in conjunction with RootsTech, I pulled up this Ontario, Canada Births record again for further review. The record clearly lists my 2nd great grandmother Anna Sophia as the mother (at 3 months shy of her 18th birthday) and lists her mother as the informant. But no father is listed, and the baby is branded as illegitimate on the record. Mamie Grandma had a child out of wedlock as a teenager, and either did not know the name of the father or just would not list the name of the father.

I asked my mom about Herbert, and Mom confirmed she had never heard her mother, grandmother, or Mamie Grandma talk about Anna Sophia having another son. Yet her grandmother, Viola, talked often of her younger brother William.

To complicate matters further, Herbert shows up on the 1891 Canadian census, at 1 year old, in Guelph, Wellington County, Ontario, Canada. He lives with his birth mother Anna Sophia. But he is listed as the “son” of Anna’s parents William Barnabas Allen (1845 – 1916) and Lucy Jane Allen (1846 – 1931), with William being the head of the household. Was this a mistake on the part of the census taker and the person in the household who talked to the census taker? Or were Anna Sophia’s parents attempting to raise Herbert as their own?

Herbert drops off the face of the map (at least, my family history map) after this census. He does not show up on the next census in the household of William and Lucy Jane (his grandparents). His mother Anna Sophia married a year later, gave birth to Viola the year following, and then gave birth to William the year after. She too disappears for a while. So I have no idea what happened to Herbert. Since Viola never talked about him, to her descendants, either a) she never knew her older brother Herbert, or b) she knew but did not have a relationship with him and was ashamed of his illegitimate status. So, was he put up in an orphanage? Adopted out? Did he continue to live with his mother and younger siblings?

Regardless of what happened to Herbert, it had to be very difficult to grow up in the late 1800s and early 1900s under the label of “illegitimate”, and it had to be even more difficult for his mother Anna Sophia to go through a teenage pregnancy at this period in history.

Allen family on the 1891 Canadian Census. Courtesy of Ancestry.com.

Anniversaries: Maria Aurelia Compean Born 154 Years Ago Today

Maria Aurelia Compean (1858-1963)

One-hundred fifty-four years ago today, on January 1, 1858, my great-great-grandmother Maria Aurelia Compean was reputedly born (I don’t yet have an actual birth record for her). Maria, who went by her middle name Aurelia, is better known to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren as “Little Grandma”.

Biographical Snapshot

Maria Aurelia Compean was born January 1, 1858, in the municipality of Armadillo de los Infante, located in the state of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. The village in which she was born is referenced as Tomascal in my records, but is also spelled Temascal and Temazcal in other sources. Her parents were Santiago Compean and Eutimia Sanches, who were married on September 14, 1859 in the same town — meaning that 1) Aurelia was born out of wedlock, or 2) that our family records list an incorrect birth date for her or wedding date for her parents. Since the only sources of birth I have for Maria Aurelia Compean are the 1920 US Census and death-related records (California Death Index, a phone interview with her mortuary, and her 1963 obituary), I do not put a whole lot of faith in the birth date I have for her. As of yet, I have been unable to locate an actual birth record for Maria Aurelia Compean — just the Mexico Catholic Church Parish Records for her baptism and possible marriage.

This family photo of Maria Aurelia (far right) with (R-L) her daughter, granddaughter and great-granddaughter illustrates why she was affectionately called “Little Grandma”. The daughter standing next to her, my great-grandmother, wasn’t much taller than my 5’1″ tall frame.

I am not certain of the name of Maria Aurelia Compean’s husband. Family records indicate his name was Rafael Nieto, but Mexican Catholic Parish records show a possible marriage to Jose Refugio Nieto on October 18, 1883 in Villa De Hidalgo, San Luis Potosi, Mexico. A distant cousin that connected with me about five years ago, who still has living family members in Tomascal that remember Aurelia, says that her living relations in that village indicate there was some sort of local scandal involving Aurelia’s husband or husbands. Family members and my research indicate that Maria Aurelia’s final husband died in Mexico. Surviving family members say that Maria Aurelia told them she came from a wealthy ranching family, that she gave birth to 21 children (including my great-grandmother Maria Nieto Robledo), and that she was able to care for this many children with the help of their many servants.

What Maria Aurelia Compean Nieto’s hometown of Armadillo de los Infante looked like in 1909.
I’ve had this photo for years, and forgot to make note of the original source, so I apologize for the lack of attribution. I will take the photo down of sharing is contested.

A more contemporary look at Armadillo de los Infante.
Photo copyright Flickr user Armadillo de los Infante S.L.P.

Both the 1920 US Census and Aurelia’s obituary indicate that Maria Aurelia Compean Nieto immigrated to the United States in 1919; family members say as a result of the Mexican Revolution (I have not yet located a border crossing or naturalization record for her). US Censuses and family members confirm that she first settled in Long Beach, California. Her obituary and family members confirm that she later lived in Glendale and Norwalk, both in Los Angeles County, California.

Maria Aurelia Compean is thought to have lived to 105 years of age.

Research Roadblocks

Missing any type of actual birth record.
Missing the names of all 21 children.
Missing her date of immigration in to the US.

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