Ethel Crossing the border from Canada to USA

In a previous post I included a link which could be a match for Ethel migrating from Canada to the USA at Niagara Falls in 1910. This came from the Family Search website and was a transcription only, without copies of original documents. Find My Past has now added records of US/Canadian Border Crossings and these do give links to originals.

 

This is the passenger list. It shows Ethel's occupation as actress, which seems to confirm that this is the right person. Her nationality is given as "England" - she was born in Plumstead, SE London - and her race as Irish. This must have been the logic of the time; her mother was from Belfast and her paternal grandfather from Seago. It also indicates she was being creative not just about her age (21 when really 17) but also her family! As nearest relative, she gives a sister Alice DuBois living in Antwerp. This does not equate even loosely to any of her known family. So far, I have not found anything about Isabell Routhwell. Her address looks like 14-E, 16 Street, Buffalo.

This is a somewhat curious document. It shows the date of her arrival as 5/28/10 i.e. 28 May 1910. There is a box on the form "Section and Subdivision - Act of 1924". This placed restrictions on immigration according to country of origin and numbers already in the US in 1890. Presumably when the Act was implemented, it was necessary to compile retrospective records of who had already entered the US and from where.
These documents also point to another detail that has so far eluded me - her departure from the UK. This tells us that she arrived in Quebec in July 1909 on the Empress of Britain. It is therefore quite likely that Ethel sailed from Liverpool.
This is looking likely. Departed Liverpool 2 July 1909, arrived Quebec 9 July. Just 55 pages to trawl through. http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/immigration-records/passenger-lists/passenger-lists-1865-1922/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=5143&
And here it is on page 18. Not the clearest image, I'm afraid. As far as I can make out, she is listed as Caroline McCann, aged 21 (would actually only have been 16), with an intended occupation in Canada of "Domestic". Possibly this was to meet a criterion of assisted passage, which might not have applied had she described herself as an actress. Religion given as Roman Catholic, which suggests that this is our girl.

 

I had been curious how Ethel could have travelled from England to Canada and the USA quoting an age that was at variance with the facts. Wouldn't her passport have given the game away? I am indebted to Tom at http://www.passport-collector.com/ for this information:

Until the Great War no travel documents were required to enter USA. Later on passports were issued based on birth certificates and citizenship/naturalization documents.



Young Peter and a double drag act

I have posted the first picture previously as an "unknown" photo, but after further sorting I have come up with a couple more that were taken in the same place and very likely at the same time. It could be the garden at Bushey Avenue but I am not certain. The second photo is of "Peter with Jayne from next door, the day of the party". The people in the last photo look like a woman dressed as a man and vice versa. I had wondered if they were Celia and Jack, but wouldn't put money on it. In other photos of the two of them standing side by side, Jack is noticeably taller than Celia. But for the couple here, the difference in height is less pronounced.

Celai and Jack in the grounds of Goverment House

 

 

From Independence in 1947, Government House became Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the Governor of West Bengal.

Uncle Jack, Aunt Celia and Cousin Peter - miscellaneous photos

Whisky and Toughy

I think these can largely speak for themselves, but I am somewhat intrigued by the 'silly little ditty Fred used to sing when he was a kid':

Look at the foughts we've fighted
Look at the deeds we've done
Bravely fought by me you ask?
Yes bravely died without any fuss
Look at the foughts we've fighted
I'll quickly let them see
I'm one of he boys of the Bulldog Breed
For a Bulldog once bit me

Since Fred (presumably her brother James Frederick) was born in 1888 and Ethel in 1892 and she would not have seen him since she moved to the USA in 1910, it is certainly pre WWI and could even be pre 1900. I have tried a Google search for these lyrics without success.

Ethel as Blanche White in Film Fun - October 1919

I am indebted to Alan Miles for tracking down this photo of Blanche/Ethel in Film Fun and making an enhanced copy of the photo. The caption in the original reads Not all nymphs of the California studios are as sparsely garbed as the Sennett bathing girls. Here are two - Evelyn Nelson and Blanche White of the Bull's Eye Follies - who prove that femininity loses none of its charm by being modestly clad. From his researches into the Film Follies archives, Alan has discovered that by 1919 when she was 27, Blanche/Ethel was appearing more in shows rather than films.
This looks like all the 1919 issues of Film Fun. If you click on "see other formats" you should be able to view online and/or download.
https://archive.org/stream/filmfun357368lesl/filmfun357368lesl_djvu.txt

More about Ethel 4

Please excuse any repetition here. I am to some degree consolidating information for previous posts.

I had not been able to trace Ethel's marriage to Leo White. I tried various combinations of White/Weiss with no luck. But http://www.lordheath.com/index.php?p=1_965_Blanche-White tells us this took place on 11 May 1911 (should be 3 May) in New York City, citing https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2438-47S. I'm not surprised I couldn't find it, as there are some mistranscriptions and perhaps intentional bending of the truth. Their names are given as Reo H. Weiss and Ethel E. Mc Cann. Her parents' names match - give or take the 'e' on the end of Dunn(e). But Ethel gives her age as 23 when in fact she would have been only 18 at the time. This is not the first time Ethel appears to have modified her age to suit circumstances. The most likely fit in immigration records gives her age as 21 when she was actually just 17: http://mackiegenealogy.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/more-about-ethel.html. There may have been further embellishments when she left England, as I have not so far been able to trace her in emigration records. I am curious about how she became involved in the theatrical world and what took her to the USA. But all witnesses are now dead and surviving documents give no cue.

Ethel and Leo had two sons. Leo Herbert James was born c. 1912 in New York and married May Emanuella Oddo on 23 November 1947. So far, I have not found likely matches for Leo (as White or Weiss) or May in births or deaths registers, or births of children to parents named White/Oddo.
Leo junior is always referred to as Peter or suchlike in correspondence from Ethel. He may have been exempt from military service during WWII. In a note on the back of a photo, Ethel refers to a letter from Jack (her other son John) addressing Peter as "My Dear Exemptee". But he attended military school in Santa Monica - possibly Ramsey - and was a lieutenant in line for captaincy around 1938.
The marriage record of 1947 gives his occupation as "singer". Ethel tells of him singing songs such as "Loch Lomond", "Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair" and "A Garden in the Rain" on radio.

John (aka Jack) was born John Fredrick in Cook, Illinois on 24 September 1914. So far, I have not found any likely matches for marriages or death. He served in the army in WWII - photos here, here and here. Can anybody identify the uniform? That might assist in tracking down any enlistment record. In the 1940 census he is listed as an actor in motion pictures. On the back of a photo sent by Ethel to her brother Fred, she says that Jack is known as Fred in the studio.

Ethel's second husband was George Lewis Cooke White, born 28 February 1899 in New York, died 17 April 1962 in Los Angeles. I guess this must be the chap identified as Bob or Bobo in Ethel's photos. Here we have some photos of Ethel, Bob and Peter (Leo Jr) on Easter Sunday, year unknown but very likely during WWII. Ethel says he is letting his hair grow for a picture he was working on and compares him to a hopper in Kent. She says that "Old Captain Cooke must have been like his grandson". George White's mother was Marietta Cooke. Is Ethel implying that "Bob" is descended from Captain James Cook? It is stretching the facts a bit - the captain died in 1779 - but associating Bob with the Cooke name appears to confirm that Bob/Bobo and George Lewis Cooke White are indeed the same person. Here we have Ethel and Bob walking the dog in Clark Drive. On the back of a photo of Bob, Ethel writes "Bob is Welsh and English descent but I tell him he looks just good old New England Yankee". George was born in New York but his father was from Massachusetts and his mother from Rhode Island, which further strengthens the likelihood that Bob and George are the same. Here we have a few postcards from Ethel; in one of them she mentions Bobo comparing the picture to New England.

Here we have a couple more of Bobo. He is playing "Sad Sack", based on the comic character introduced in 1942 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sad_Sack. "Ted" is playing the sergeant. So who is Ted? This is a long shot, but a slight possibility.  Here and here are photos of a little girl called Sally Louise Jarvis. Her parents were Arthur Tedcastle Jarvis Jr. (1914-2004) Shirley Elizabeth Hamilon (1914- ). Ethel mentions her resemblance to "Grandpa Jarvis". Could Ted have been Arthur Tedcastle Jarvis Sr. born c. 1883?

More About Ethel 3

In a follow up post http://www.voy.com/225534/4/9314.html Jesse writes:
"If this is our Ethel, then she was born August 21, 1892 and died October 5, 1963. * almost gotta be, but I find it odd that if she remarried, she'd keep her divorced first husband's last name?"
with a link to California Deaths record
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VPCZ-1Z2
Mother's maiden name is given as Dunne, which fits what we already know.

In a further follow-up http://www.voy.com/225534/4/9315.html Jesse then writes:
"Maybe that was a false alarm. Still, what are the odds?" and includes links:
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K8JF-2K5
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1971-29948-35419-53?cc=1804002
This shows Ethel marrying George L. Cooke-White in Los Angeles on 9 September 1934. This is definitely our Ethel - middle names and parents names match. But she is being somewhat creative about her age. She says she is 34 but would actually have been 42. Her address is 321 South Reeves Drive, Beverly Hills. She gives her father's birthplace as Scotland, not Mauritius, but as previously mentioned, her father and his father were military men and many of the McCanns were born overseas, so some confusion is understandable.
George's age is given as 37. His occupation is given as insurance underwriter. His address is 1732 North Whitley Avenue, Los Angeles and his birthplace New York. His parents were Edgar Mills White and Marietta Cooke.
Officiant was J.K. Stewart, Pastor of Beverly Vista Community Church. (Although raised a catholic, as a divorcee, Ethel could not marry in a catholic church.)

 https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K97C-SZY
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-27791-14008-46?cc=2000219
And this is Ethel and George at Tract 383 Beverly Hills in the 1940 census. Ethel's age is correctly given as 47. George now describes himself as an actor in motion pictures. He is listed as George L.C. White.

After some further research, I have found George and Ethel buried in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego California.
https://billiongraves.com/grave/Ethel-Caroline-White/18586140#
This has photos of both headstones. George's dates are given as February 28, 1899 to April 17, 1962. The inscription includes "PVT RCT DET 79 FIELD ARTY WORLD WAR 1". (I'm guessing the abbreviations mean Private, Regimental Combat Team Detachment, 79 Field Artillery but stand to be corrected) Fort Rosecrans is a military cemetery so no doubt his WWI service qualifies him and his spouse for interment here.

Can we find anything more about George?
Here is his birth record (indexed as George Curtis Cooke White but all other details match)
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WWH-BQH
He had an older sister Margaret Mary White, born 1898 in Manhattan.
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2W8J-3C3
In 1900, 1905 and 1910 he was with his parents (see details below for Edgar). So far, I have not found him in the 1920 Census.
This looks like him in the 1930 census, lodging at The Crest Hotel, 4969 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles (now long gone as far as I can tell from Google Streetview), describing himself as a salesman
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCJ1-3B9
Here he is in the deaths register
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VP4W-6HM
Father was Edgar Mills White, born Charlestone, Suffolk, Massachusetts, 27 October 1858. He had a twin brother Waldo.
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHTL-N4F
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FXCR-H5F
 https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11846-35248-92?cc=1536925
Died on 26 January 1912 and was buried in Swan Point Cemetery, Rhode Island
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVPM-P75Q
The family was in Manhattan in 1900
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MSKR-V87
and 1905
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SPN4-G33
and 1910
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M5HZ-2B1

More about Ethel 2

To quote from Jesse
"Now THIS is interesting...
John Frederick Weiss was born September 24, 1914 in Cook, IL (Leo would have been working for Essanay at the time, I believe)
Leo Weiss' age is 32 (birthdate: November 10, 1881), born in Berlin, Germany
Ethel Caroline McCann's age is 22 (birthdate: circa 1892), born in London, England"
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NQ14-CHD
So Leo and John, later known as White, appear in the records as Weiss.

"WWI Draft Card (Sept. 12, 1918)
Leo Weiss (AKA Leo White) is age 36, born November 10, 1881
Lives at 6806 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Calif.
He was born in Germany
He is an actor at Universal Film Co.
His wife is listed as Ethel Veronica White (GAHHH!)"
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KZVN-KKP
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1971-26181-16483-54?cc=1968530
This must be the same as I have a postcard from Ethel - date uncertain - where she gives her address as 6806 Hollywood Blvd. So the listing of Ethel's middle name as Veronica must be an error. Leo's date of birth is given her as November 10, 1881 but other sources say 1882. Since he has his wife's middle name is wrong, the date of birth may be unreliable.

"1920 Census (Jan 7 1920)
Leo (38 - birth year 1881) and Ethel (37? - 1882; adding 10 years?) live with their sons in Los Angeles
Leo's parents were born E Prussia, Germany (Leo's birthplace simply says Germany)
Ethel's dad was born in Scotland, her mom in Ireland; Ethel was born in England
Both act in motion pictures"
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MHQF-ZLF
https://archive.org/stream/14thcensusofpopu106unit#page/n605/mode/1up
So in the 1920 census, the family name is given a Weiss, not White. Dates of immigration for Leo and Ethel are given as 1903 and 1910 respectively. Ethel's age is given as 37 in the transcription, but the original actually shows 27. Ethel gives her father's birthplace as Scotland, although he was actually born in Mauritius. Both her father James and his father John were in the army and some of their children were born overseas. James's elder sister was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire. So it is quite likely that Ethel, after hearing family stories of relatives born abroad, got mixed up about who was born where.

"In the meantime, John (Fred) (25) and Leo (28) in the 1940 Census (Apr 8)
Interesting, John/Fred is an actor in motion pcitures as well!
Leo is a shop foreman (Venetian blinds)"
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K97C-1HS
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-27791-13474-97?cc=2000219
Brothers John and Leo at 202 North La Peer Drive. This is the address Leo's address at the time of his marriage in 1947. Possibly Leo's job as a shop foreman was a stopgap, as by 1947 his occupation was singer.

To be continued...

More about Ethel

I haven't been active for a while, but recently a lot more information has come to light about my great aunt Ethel White nee McCann for which I am indebted to Margaret (granddaughter of Ethel's sister Elizabeth) and Alan Miles.

To recap, Ethel married actor Leo White and had a theatrical career under the stage name Blanche White. Her film output was relatively modest http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0924527/?ref_=nmbio_bio_nm. So far, I had not seen any movies that included Ethel. So I was particularly delighted to be directed to this 1917 short "The Chief Cook" where Blanche appears as Maggie the 'slavery maid'.
Here is a synopsis
http://www.lordheath.com/index.php?p=1_963_The-Chief-Cook
And here is the movie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdaQry_z_34

Margaret and Alan also directed me to an online forum where some else had been researching Blanche/Ethel http://www.voy.com/225534/4/9313.html . "Jesse" had found my blog and compared it to his or her own researches. Working through Jesse's links:

Marriage of Leo and Ethel's elder son Leo Herbert James White to May Emanuella Oddo, 23 November 1947. (As mentioned in previous entries, young Leo is always referred to as Peter or a diminutive in correspondence from Ethel to her sister Ada.) I had not been aware of this marriage and it opens up new avenues for research:
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K8KK-8HD
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-29947-66158-80?cc=1804002
At the time, Leo was living at 202 North, La Peer Drive, Beverly Hills. Here it is on Google Streetview
202 No, La Peer Drive (although you do sometimes need to take with a pinch of salt just how accurate Google is at pinpointing individual houses.) But it gives an idea of the location. His occupation is shown as singer.

May is shown as divorced and this is her second marriage, but her father's name is shown as Charles Joseph Oddo, so presumably she reverted to her maiden name after divorcing. Her address is given as North Curson Avenue, Loss Angeles; the house number is indistinct. Her birthplace is Connecticut. So far, no trace of her first marriage,

Ethel's birth
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/2FMX-FPM
Woolwich 2Q 1892, matches what I already have.

Ethel in 1901 census
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X98P-1DF
This is Ethel, her parents, siblings and niece at 49 Marmadon Road, Plumstead (which is listed here as being in Middlesex). This property is still in existence. Search Google Maps and take a virtual tour with Street View. Postcode is SE18 1EA. It is the last house on the north side before Barth Mews and the wheelie bin outside is numbered 49. (In 1891, prior to Ethel's birth, the family was at 39 Marmadon Road, now demolished. You can see its position on this 1959 OS map)

Jesse thinks this could be Ethel arriving in America.
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XP29-63L
Ethel McCann, age given as 21, arriving at Niagara Falls, New York in June 1910 via a border crossing from Canada. Birthplace London, England and "Race" Irish. I hadn't been having much luck finding when Ethel left the UK, not least because I didn't know where and when she married Leo, so not sure whether I should be looking for her as McCann or White. And if she travelled via Canada, that would further confound the issue. In June 1910 Ethel would actually have been 17. That does seem rather young to be making such an epic journey. Maybe she was adding a few years to her age to avoid awkward questions, but surely she would have needed a passport. All this does raise questions about how she came to leave her family and start a new life across the Atlantic while still in her teens. Possibly she went over with a travelling theatre company. And did she meet future husband Leo in the USA or England? According to IMDB "Leo White started in comedy on the boards of English music hall in the late 1890's. He accompanied theatrical producer Daniel Frohman (later a partner of Adolph Zukor in Famous Players Lasky) to Hollywood in 1910". Since Ethel and Leo arrived in the USA at about the same time, they may have already known each other and might even have travelled together.

As to the rather odd classification of her "race" (rather than nationality) as Irish, her mother Mary was born in Belfast. Father James was born in Mauritius while his parents were there on military service. James's father John was a gunner in the Royal Artillery, born in Seago, Lurgan, Co Armagh. So maybe by the logic of the time, that made Ethel Irish.

Ethel with sons Leo and John, 1930 census at Hedvig Apartments, 1819 North Kingsley Drive, Los Angeles.
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XCV9-5LK
https://archive.org/stream/californiacensus00reel134rs#page/n254/mode/1up
This matches what I was told previously by E.J. Fleming.

To be continued...