Education Levels of My Great-Grandparents

I wanted to look into the education levels of family members. The 1940 census has a column that describes a person's highest level of education. In this post, I will describe the highest level of education for each of my great-grandparents that were enumerated in the 1940 census.

Since my paternal grandfather's parents were Mexican, they were not in the 1940 U.S. Federal Census. My paternal grandmother's parents were Rebert Odell Hitchcock and Joy Decimund Stephens. Rebert's highest completed grade was ninth grade; Joy's highest grade was 11th.

Clipping from 1940 Census

My maternal grandfather's parents were Jesse Lee Findley and Rosemary Christine Reaber. Jesse's highest completed grade was eighth grade. (The 1945 Florida State Census listed his highest grade as "grammar school.") Rosemary was the only of my great-grandparents to graduate high school.

Clipping from 1940 Census

My maternal grandmother's parents were Gerald Dean Richerson and Jessie Roberta Ellis. I haven't found Gerald in the 1940 census yet. He is out of his parents' house by 1940, and he isn't married yet, so I don't know where he is. Jessie is still living at home with most of her siblings. Her highest level of education is listed as eighth grade.

Clipping from 1940 Census

So, after analyzing the education levels of my great-grandparents, I realize about half of them followed the "normal" pattern. Eighth grade was a fairly common end point for a child's education. Not only was additional education not viewed as necessary, but by the time the child was out of or in eighth grade, they were expected to be contributing to the household.

I was interested to see, however, that so many of my great-grandparents continued on into at least part of high school. I think that speaks to my love of knowledge and education myself.

I hope to find out more information about my Mexican great-grandparents in hopes of seeing where they fall in the education spectrum, but that will definitely take a little more digging. In the meantime, I think I'll settle with continuing to look for Gerald in the 1940 census.

Sources:

• 1940 Charlotte, Mecklenburg, North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1940 DeLand, Volusia, Florida U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1940 Fulton, Callaway, Missouri U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1945 Jacksonville, Duval, Florida State Census (accessed on Ancestry)

Gerald Dean Richerson

One of the perks to having such a "young" family is that I have known more than half of my great-grandparents. I didn't realize how unusual this was until I was in college and had been doing genealogy for a few years already.

I never knew my Mexican great-grandparents; they both passed away before I was born. While I didn't know them well, I did get to meet my dad's other set of grandparents as a child. My maternal grandfather's dad passed away before I was born, but I knew his mom very well. (She's the one that got me started on this crazy genealogy kick in the first place!) And my maternal grandmother's mom lived next door to us growing up.

My maternal grandmother's father, on the other hand, has always been a bit of a mystery to me. Even though he was still alive by the time I went to college, I never knew him. And, actually, it never dawned on me that I hadn't met him until I found out even he existed.

As a kid, you only know what you've been told, and I was told my "Grandma Grimm" was my granny's mom. Since I was never introduced to a person referred to as my granny's "dad," I kind of just assumed she didn't have one.

An excerpt from my Baby Book. (I don't even think my mom asked anybody for information. She put in whom she had met personally and left it at that.)

Then, one day, I can't quite remember if it was when I was in middle school or high school, we drove by a house. I don't even remember where the house was, except I am fairly certain it was still in North Carolina somewhere. When questioning why we were stopped on the side of the street in this seemingly random residential area, I was told my granny's dad lived in the house up ahead of us.

As far as I remember, no one ever approached the house or tried to make contact with him; I just remember driving by the house that day. As if simply knowing he was a real person was enough for my mom and grandmother.

When I started doing genealogy, I asked my grandmother her father's name, but still to this day I haven't asked if she ever knew her father or why he wasn't around when I was a kid. (Honestly, it even took me a while to figure out that her mom had gotten remarried at some point because their last names weren't the same! I never met a "Grandpa Grimm," so again I just assumed there just wasn't one.)

Gerald Dean Richerson was born on 30 June 1921 in Long Lane, Dallas County, Missouri. My grandmother's birth certificate says otherwise. (Not that I hold much stock in what birth certificates say; my dad's says that his dad was born in Texas, instead of Mexico.)

From what I can tell, he was the oldest of eight children born to William Parker Richerson and Cleo Belle Triplett. He married my great-grandmother Jessie Roberta Ellis on 21 December 1942. Together, they had one child, Clara Dean Richerson, in 1943

As I mentioned before, I don't know what happened after my grandmother was born, but by 1947 Gerald was getting married to Hazel Corrine Jenkins in Santa Rosa, Florida. Hazel and Gerald had at least one child together, Barbara Louise Richerson, in 1949.

I don't know if Gerald stayed around long for his second wife and second child, but Gerald remarried a third time to a woman named Marjorie. They had at least the following children:

• John William Richerson, born 1963
• Marjorie L Richerson, born 1968
• Laura Richerson

The only other thing I know about Gerald is that he served as a pilot with the U.S. Navy. He served a year and a half in the military. He enlisted on 19 December 1957 and was released on 6 July 1959. I don't know any specifics on his service, but I do have a picture of him.

Provided by Thomas Cardenas

This was the first photo I saw of my great-grandfather. Since he was 36 when he enlisted in the Navy, and that is relatively old to have joined the service, I wonder what his reasoning was.  Whatever the reason, I think his experiences in the Navy directly affected his feelings about family. I think that's why he found a wife, and kept her, and had a family.

Based on everything I've been able to dig up on him, I don't think Gerald would have been an easy person to know, but I think I would have liked to have known him.

Photo provided by Thomas Cardenas

Gerald died on 28 March 2006 in Missouri. I don't know where he is buried yet, but I assume he is buried in Missouri. If anyone knows anything about Gerald, his second and third spouses, or his other children, please send me a message. I would love to find some answers for this part of the family tree.

Sources:

• Birth Certificate, Clara Dean Richerson
• U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, Gerald Dean Richerson

Robert Richerson and Frances Isabelle Richerson

Robert Richerson was born 6 December 1876 in Dallas County, Missouri. I have a lot of Missouri roots on both of my parents' sides of the family. I wonder not only what took so many people to Missouri, but also what kept people living there.

Robert was the ninth (or 10th) of 11 children born to James Washington Richerson and Arena Burselia Bowman.

Clipping from 1900 census showing the newlyweds living with Robert's parents

I only have 10 children so far for Arena, and according to this census, it looks like she had one die early. I haven't found the name of this child yet.

He married Frances Isabelle Skaggs on 3 November 1899 in Dallas County, Missouri.

Robert and Isabelle had the following children:

Clipping from 1910 census

Here's a clearer list of the names of the kids:

• William Parker Richerson
• Thomas Arthur Richerson
• James Dolan Richerson
• Irene F Richerson
• Edna Florence Richerson

Robert and Isabelle led a relatively uneventful life. They lived in the same town almost their entire married life, and they seemed to be simple farmers. Since they lived in the 1900's mostly, there are no agriculture censuses for me to check online to see what they may have farmed. I wish I knew more about this family. I think a trip to Missouri is in order to get a better grasp on them and their circumstances.

Sources:

• 1900 Washington, Dallas County, Missouri U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1910 Washington, Dallas County, Missouri U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1920 Washington, Dallas County, Missouri U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1930 Washington, Dallas County, Missouri U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1940 South Benton, Dallas County, Missouri U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)

Queen Ellis' Bible

This week, instead of highlighting a couple or family, I thought I would highlight a genealogical document. I chose my mom's mom's mom's mom's family Bible.

Queen Ellis' Bible

Queen Vistie Snipes was born 10 January 1899 in Union County, North Carolina. She married Clyde Ellis on 5 April 1914 in Lancaster County, South Carolina. The Bible was printed in 1924, so this would have been her Bible as a married woman.

Copyright dates found on second page of bible

Queen didn't fill in any information on her parents or grandparents in this Bible, but she did complete the Children's Register pages with all 13 of her children's birthdays. Here is what she included (I have left all of her original spellings as she wrote them):

• James Clarence Ellis, born 11 January 1915 in Chesterfield, South Carolina; married Ola Mae in Kansas City, Missouri
• Virgil Vernon Ellis, born 6 June 1917
• Albert Ellis, born 18 April 1918
• Robert Ellis, born 8 June 1929
• Arthur Fred Ellis, born 17 July 1921 in Gastonia, North Carolina; married Marie Conner in 1962
• Jessie Roberta Ellis, born 21 November 1922 in Gastonia, North Carolina; married Everett M. Grimm on 2 February 1960 in Dinsmore, Florida

(Side note: I find it interesting that Jessie Roberta, my great-grandmother is listed as marrying Everett Grimm instead of her first husband, my great-grandfather, Gerald Dean Richerson. I wonder if Queen didn't approve of their relationship.)

• Dorothy Ellis, born 23 March 1924 in Gastonia, North Carolina; married Warren H. Hall on 11 November in Lancaster, South Carolina
• Clara Ma Ellis, born 17 January 1925 in Gastonia, North Carolina; married Veto A. Vespoint in York, South Carolina
• Earl Dugar Ellis, born 17 September 1927 in Gastonia, North Carolina; married Renee
• Margaret Mae Ellis, born 23 July 1931 in Charlotte, North Carolina; married Don E. Penninger in Lancaster, South Carolina 
• Mikie Berry Ellis, born 27 September 1933 in Charlotte, North Carolina; married Francis White
• Franklin D Ellis, born 29 October 1936 in Charlotte, North Carolina; married Faye Dowell on 28 August 1960 in Statesville, North Carolina
• George Emitt Ellis, born 22 November 1939 in Charlotte, North Carolina

I love seeing how the first child was born in South Carolina, followed by several who were born in Gastonia, and then seeing the family finally settle down in Charlotte where my grandmother eventually was raised. I always find it fun to follow the families as they grow to see where they move to raise their kids.

I love old Bibles, and this is a great one. I think it's fantastic to be able to see my great-great-grandmother's handwriting as she wrote out the names of her children, made notes in the margins of the text, and tucked newspaper clippings inside which were important to her. Plus, the fact that this is a large Bible (measuring over a foot long), it gives insight into the role religion played in Queen's life.

My favorite part of her entire Bible, however, is a completely non-genealogical page I found inside: The Family Temperance Pledge.

Family Temperance Pledge page from Queen's Bible

Being that this bible was copyrighted in the early 1920s, the topic of alcohol and alcohol consumption was a controversial one. I found this page added a touch of character to the Bible that I wasn't necessarily expecting otherwise. This pledge provides a list of 12 rules or ideals by which the family is agreeing to follow:

Family Temperance Pledge
Rules 1-6

1. Moderate drinking tends to drunkenness, while total abstinence directly from it.
2. It is said on reliable authority that in recent years one boy in five becomes addicted to drink by the time he is 21 years of age.
3. Intoxicating drinks can do no good as a beverage, and there are always safer and surer remedies to use in case of sickness.
4. The idea of moderation is full of deceit, and our estimate of the power of our own will is usually a mistaken one.
5. The drinking habit is the cause of the larger portion of the misery, poverty, and crime in our land.
6. Both science and experience prove that even moderate drinking is injurious to health.
7. Eternal interests are often forfeited through drink, for the Bible declares that no drunkard shall enter heaven.
8. The Bible pronounces no blessing upon drinking, but many upon total abstinence.
9. It is easier to keep a pledge publicly, solemnly given than a simple resolution.
10. The pledge protects us from the solicitations of friends, and removes us from the temptations of the saloon.
11. Persons miscalculate their ability to drink in moderation, and become slaves to the drinking habit before they are aware of it.
12. Intemperance obstructs civilization, education, religion and every useful reform.

To me, more fascinating than the existence of the page at all is the fact that it isn't a "completed" page. No one signed it. Is that because Queen was indifferent to temperance? Is that because she was opposed to temperance? Or did she simply not want to mark a beautiful page in the Bible unnecessarily? My grandmother, who currently has possession of her grandmother's Bible, may know the answer. I will need to ask her about her grandparents' views of alcohol next time I speak to her. 

Queen Vistie Snipes Ellis
Provided by Thomas Cardenas

Sources:

• Queen Vistie Snipes Ellis, 1915-1962, The Holy Bible, Hertel's New Standard Alphabetically Indexed Bible (Chicago, Illinois, USA:  The John A Hertel Co., 1924); privately held by Clara R. Findley.
• Photos of Bible taken June 2013 by Brittany Jenkins
• Photo of Queen Ellis provided by Thomas Cardenas