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...

St. Mary's Sidcup "Oedipus the King" 1964

I found some Kentish Times archive photos lying around on the internet.  Go to:

http://archives.bexley.gov.uk/

Search for "Oedipus"
That should find six results.  Click on the reference, then click on the thumbnail to bring up full size:



2887.  Oedipus's daughters are John Escott (left) and Steve Clark
2888.
2893.
2894.  That is a young Tom Collins leading on the blind man
2897
2898

St. Mary's memorabilia

I knew I had this stuff somewhere.  The other day I was up in the loft looking for something unrelated and found a lot of this in a folder helpfully labelled "miscellanous rubbish".

This is issue 2 dated Summer 1964.  I don't remember any other issues.

A couple of Speech Day programmes from 1967 and 1968.  Here's a page from one of them, including the school hymn.

And a set of programmes for school plays 1964-1970.  Here's the front page from 1970, plus a page listing all previous productions going back to 1957.

I've bundled it all into a handy zip which you can download from here http://www.mediafire.com/download/0qcgu1j93v6643e/St._Mary%27s_memorabilia.zip
Sorry, the link has been dead for a while. Now re-upped 18 January 2016

Old stamps, tickets etc.

I think these images largely speak for themselves.  The train tickets are marked "privilege" as Don Mackie worked for British Railways and was therefore entitled to concessionary fares.  The Mother Goose tickets are for a 1961 production which I attended with my parents and my sister.  According to http://www.its-behind-you.com/granadapanto.html the stars were Rosemary Squires, Edie Calvert and Peter Webster. 

Who's that in the garden?

This was taken in the back garden at 84 Basildon Road but it is not anyone I recognise.