The Hart girls, some years later

Lizzie (Bailey), Annie (Harris) with daughter Joan (now Ward), Mabel (Purves) with daughter Margaret (now King), Emily (Wright, previously Main)

The Hart girls

My grandmother Elizabeth (Lizzie) (Mrs William Bailey) was one of five sisters. The others were: Emily (Mrs Joseph Main, later Mrs Herbert Wright), Annie (Mrs Fred Harris), Mabel (Mrs James Purves) and Lucy (died aged 11 years). I believe there was also a son who died very young. Both their parents were from Melton Mowbray and that is where the family eventually returned. But they travelled around a bit. Emily was born in Hickling, Notts, Lizzie and Mabel in Hunslet, Leeds and Annie and Lucy in West Derby, Merseyside. I do not know who the baby is, but I believe the others from left to right are Emily, Annie and Lizzie.

Pushing my sister in a wheelbarrow

Another one taken by Uncle Jack in the back garden at Basildon Road

Your blogger pointing into a fishpond

Taken by Uncle Jack in his back garden at Bushey Avenue, Orpington

Your blogger, his sister and father

In the back garden at 84 Basildon Road, Abbey Wood. (Taken by Uncle Jack)

Jack, Celia and Peter "Seaforth"

This must have been taken in the late 1940s. Notice the tear down the right side. I haven't found the other half of the picture.

Aunt Celia and cousin Peter

 

Caption on the back reads "On the Lake Naini - when Jack came up on leave. July '42" This is in the foothills of the Himalayas. Peter was born in Naini, according to Wikipedia "a satellite neighborhood and a twin city of Allahabad"

Uncle Jack and Aunt Celia, 1940s

 *Updated July 2016*

I have revised this one to include a larger version of the original and add a second photo taken at the same time. Judging by their clothing, I think this would also have been taken at Chapel Lane as was this one. Of interest is the aeroplane brooch Aunt Celia is wearing. It was carved by Jack from a toothbrush handle.

Uncle Jack in the army

21 April 1945

"B.L.A. on active service"

"The distinguised looking Gauleiter of Dusseldorf! 22nd July 1945"

Another "Sergeant Jack" in the family. So was his uncle John Alexander in the Imperial Yeomanry and cousin John Frederick (Ethel's son) in the US army

Shirley and Sally Louise

Just when I thought I had finished with the Ethel McCann archive, another picture turns up. "This is Shirley and cute Sally Louise. It doesn't do Shirley justice really - she has lovely colouring auburn hair and blue eyed - she is Scottish descent (nee Hamilton)" Is Sally Ethel's granddaughter and if so where does the name Jarvis come from? Or possibly Shirley was married to Bob's son by a previous marriage.

*Update, July 2016*
My speculation that Sally is related to Ethel and/or Bob appears wide of the mark. But I have found some more information.
On 8 October 1937, Shirley Elizabeth Hamilton of 23 S. Catalina St. Los Angeles married Arthur Tedcastle Jarvis Jr of 817 North Bedford Drive, Beverly Hills. Witnesses were Samuel A. Street and Sally Louise Hamilton, Shirley's younger sister. The marriage was solemnised by Thomas J. O'Sullivan, catholic priest, of 5801 Carlton Way, Hollywood.
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K8VM-K32

The 1940 census finds Arthur, Shirley, daughter Sally (then 0 years old) and Arthur's parents at 817 Whittier Drive, Beverly Hills (now 90210)

For more about Sally, see http://mackiegenealogy.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/sally-louise-jarvis.html

More about Shirley
Shirley was born on 16 January 1914 in Baxter, Jasper, Iowa. Her parents were (Dr.) William Franklin Hamilton, born in State Center, Iowa and Shirley Marks MacLennan, born in Clleveland, Ohio.
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V46J-WTK

More about Arthur
Various records give his occupation as real estate.
Arthur was born on 22 March 1914 in Nashville, Tennessee. His parents were Arthur Tedcastle Jarvis, born in Virginia c. 1883 and Louise O'Keefe, born in Nashville c. 1887.
There is a good match in United States World War II Army Enlistment Records with Arthur T. Jarvis, born 1914 in Tennessee. He enlisted as a Private in the Air Corps on 14 July 1942 in Des Moines, Iowa
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K85J-N9T
Arthur remarried on 27 November 1946 in Los Angeles to Lura Joy White, 23. He was still at 817 North Bedford Drive. Lura's parents are given as Lewis A. White and "Ocy L. Jones" but the original image is indistinct. Best match I births register for Lura is Lura J White, 5 March 1923, Los Angeles.
His birth date was 2 July 1914 and died on 2 July 2004 in Beverly Hills 90212.
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J5FC-VZL
He was buried in  Rose Hills Memorial Park, Whittier, Los Angeles, California

A few more cards from Ethel to Ada

I don't think these add too much to the story, but I include them for what they may be worth. This wraps up the bulk of what the archive holds about Ethel McCann and her family in the USA.

Ethel's postcards of Mexican bandits

This looks like a rather gruesome subject for a postcard. The pictures and Ethel's text relate to an incident which took place on March 9, 1916. According to http://mattstodayinhistory.blogspot.com/2007/03/pancho-villa-raids-columbus-new-mexico.html 'Two hours before sunrise, more than 500 Mexican raiders led by Francisco "Pancho" Villa crossed the US border and attacked the small town of Columbus, New Mexico.'

Apart from the history lesson, this gives a helpful fix in time. I don't think we have a date of death for Ethel's father recorded anywhere, but clearly he was still alive in 1916. There is a reference to "when Petsey was little". This implies her son Peter was born some time before 1916. My sister and I remember hearing from Ada that Ethel went out to America with Charlie Chaplin, which would be in 1912. No doubt she spent a bit of time establishing her career before starting a family. And she refers to husband Bob as a New Englander, so presumably she met and married him over there. [Update. Bob appears to have been her second husband. Her first was Leo White.] I would guess Peter was born around 1914 and John some time later.
Further updates:
'Bob' isn't actually mentioned on these postcards. If they were sent soon after the Pancho Villa raid, she would have still been married to Leo.
Migration records show that Ethel travelled to the US via Canada in 1909-1910, see later posts.
Ethel's father James McCann died 24 October 1921
'Peter' must be a nickname. Her elder son's name was Leo Herbert James White. He was born in 1911 or 1912, exact date not traced so far.
Ethel is keen for news of Fred - her brother James Frederick McCann. In 1916 her may well have been on military service.
She sent Jack a little book. This must be John Adam Mackie, son of her sister Ada and the original recipient of the postcards.

Who's that girl with Bartlett Robinson?

A very frustrating press cutting sent from Ethel to Ada. It has obviously been stored folded and part of the caption has been lost. All but the first letter of the man's name survived and a Google search confirms there was an actor Bartlett Robinson. But the actresses's name (Ethel's annotation refers to her only as Kay) is missing.

2 November 2015. An internet search brings me to this
BARTLETT ROBINSON, KAY COULTER, HOWARD SMITH, PHYLLIS POVAH,
JOHN DALL, VIRGINIA GILMORE in
"DEAR RUTH"
Source http://www.archive.org/stream/pictorialhistory00blumrich/pictorialhistory00blumrich_djvu.txt
Downloaded this as a pdf and there is a picture of here. So this is Kay Coulter and the year is 1944, but what is the connection, if any, to my family?

Sally Louise Jarvis

One from Ethel's archives and presumably sent to her sister Ada. I do not recognise the name so am not sure if she is actually related. Apparently "she looks like her grandpa Jarvis" - could this be Bob/Bobo? Ethel mentions Peter Alan Mackie. He was born in 1938 and Ethel would have been in her mid forties then. So I am not sure why she was musing on having a caesarian. I do not know what she means by "Still no baby." Perhaps Jack or Peter is married by now and Ethel is looking forward to becoming a grandmother. It is interesting that she makes a reference to Dory (short for Dorothy) Precious, the first child of Ethel and Ada's sister Annie.
Update July 2016*
Transcription of text Sally Louise Jarvis. Isn't she a sweet little kid. She looks like her grandpa Jarvis. I think I told you she was born caesarean - I'd have one that way myself - if I thought she would be like this one - or if not like her & a him - like Peter Alan Mackie - he is lovely. Still no baby but my own and yours have ever looked as beautiful to me as Dory Precious did.
This post http://mackiegenealogy.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/shirley-and-sally-louise.html has a photo of Sally and her mother and I have added information about her parents so shall not repeat it all here.
Sally was born on 4 March 1940 in California https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VGDK-6LV
There are two likely marriage entries for Sally L Jarvis, born 1940, marrying Cecil H Abbott, aged 28 in California in 1960. One gives the date as 9 April in Imperial and the other as 25 June in Los Angeles.
 

Peter in Alamagordo, New Mexico

That's a tastefully understated shirt he's wearing!

Peter and a friend

Ethel's son Peter (Leo H) (in the background). He is in showbiz too as she describes him singing on the radio.

Peter at military school in Santa Monica

Ethel's son Peter (Leo junior)
The caption reads "5ft 10 1/2. - 16. & 4 mths"
Text on the back reads
"Petesie isn't as stern looking as this - he was joking - I said about face or something and he struck this pose - Besides it was early in the A.M. & he was on Sunday duty as officer of the day - not so nice & the Santa Monica Beach is only 3 miles from the school - He is in line for captaincy is now lieutenant - school in rear"
Based on Google searches for military schools in the Santa Monica area, I am guessing he attended Ramsey Military School.
He was born c. 1912 so this photo must date from around 1928.
 *Revised entry July 2016*

A couple of Ethel's boy Jack in uniform

There are no captions on the back. Obviously taken at different stages of his army career.

A couple of Bobo

The quality is not too good as they are small contact prints, but it is interesting to see him at work. "Sad Sack" was a well known army cartoon character at the time.

Ethel and Jack - some years later

These are clearly taken a few years on from the previous batches of photos. Ethel is noticeably older, Jack has been in the army long enough to earn his sergeant's stripes and a couple of rows of medal ribbons and they have a new dog. Ethel mentions some of the pictures are taken in a vacant lot in rear of Beverly Wilshire Hotel. The hotel is 9500 Wilshire Blvd. I think the vacant lot

must be in the angle between North Beverly Drive and Wilshire Blvd, which is now occupied by No 9465, a modern office tower which is home to various theatrical agents. (I had fun playing with Street View on Google Maps to find that out. Alas Street View does not include Clark Drive, where Ethel and her family lived.) Another picture is taken on the corner of Charleville Blvd and El Camino Drive. She mentions telephoning Walsingham Lodge. That was in Manor Park, Chislehurst. I have a document dated June 1943 where this is given as Ada and Bert's address. [Entry updated. I have now added a few specific posts about Walsingham Lodge.] The mention of similarities between Jack, Fred and her father leads me to think that Fred must be her brother. Father and son were both James McCann and the son's middle initial was F. so maybe Frederick was his middle name and they called him Fred in the family to distinguish one from t'other. And how come Ethel was taking such an interest in where they wear out their trousers? (Actually this is not something peculiar to the McCann menfolk. That is where trousers tend to "go".)