Was Granddad in Show Biz?

Several months ago, I found my maternal grandfather's WWI US Draft Registration Card. The registration date of the card is June 7, 1917.  Although I've since found other references for my grandfather's birth place, there was some new information, information I had not found elsewhere. These include my grandfather's birth date and place of birth, as well as his location in 1917. On this card, Galen W. [Weiker] Rote reports that he is living at 525 Locust in Toledo, Ohio, and was born on Mar. 7 1888 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

I also learned that his “present trade, occupation, or office”is “Show Business.”

WWI US Draft Registration Card for Galen W. Rote

Wait a minute! Show Business???!!

I hadn't seen that before. On census forms and in city directories for Toledo and for Sandusky, Ohio, where my mother was born and where Galen died, I've seen him employed as a brakeman, a salesman, even a bartender for the Central Labor Hall. On his wedding license application, Galen gave his occupation as machinist. According to my dad, Granddad Rote also managed a restaurant for a time, although I've found no confirmation of this. But, show business is different, and intriguing.  


On his draft registration card, Galen gave his employer as J. S. Forenze. Or, are those even initials? They could easily be the number 28, possibly added later, although I don't know what that might mean. If you have a suggestion, please let me know! For “where employed” I first interpreted his answer as “Peerless Mrs. Ed. [unreadable] Mich,” but with some help from a second cousin have since come to realize it was “Peerless Mus Co. Det Mich” (Peerless Music Co., Detroit, Mich.).

A bit of research, plus a couple of conversations with a friend and coworker who works in independent film, suggested that Peerless Music Company was probably a branch of the Peerless Film Corporation. I was fortunate enough to turn up a photograph of the Peerless Film Corporation's Detroit headquarters in 1917. The building was located at 153 East Jefferson in Detroit, Michigan, as referenced in the photo and comments for the photo. I love the coincidence of the photograph being from 1917. Did my grandfather walk down that street? Did he work in this building?

I'm fascinated. In what capacity was my mother's father working? None of his other positions have a obvious connection to the music or film industry. I wonder whether this just was a young man's willingness to take advantage of an opportunity, or whether it reflected a dream close to his heart. What was his position, really? Did he take tickets, work backstage, or was he part of a variety act? His use of the phrase "Show Business" seems to suggest a romantic attachment to his work, but did his actual position place him in some dusty corner dreaming of fame, or did he have the opportunity to appear on stage or screen?

Did Lulu approve, or disapprove, of the work? When Galen left this job, did he do so because it had never been more than a temporary situation, because he'd found himself unsuited for the work, or because his wife required more stability? Certainly I know that by the time his first child was born, he was working in more traditional, less unpredictable fields, as a brakeman.

My mother was fairly reticent when it came to talking about the details of her life, so I don't know whether her silence about her father's foray into show business reflected a lack of knowledge of events that happened well before she was born, or whether she grew up hearing about her dad's adventures on the stage. Either way, I would dearly love to know more about this aspect of my grandfather's life.

Marriage License for Galen W. Rote and Lulu Cruan

Today I found the marriage license application for my mother's parents, Galen Weiker Rote and Lulu P. Craun.

Detail of Marriage License Application for Galen W. Rote and Lulu Craun

I had previously determined the probably location (Toledo, Lucas, Ohio) and approximate date (sometime between 1911 and 1917) based on what I knew from other records, but I had simply come up with a blank when attempting to find the actual record with the date of the marriage. Of course, this is just the application, but it gets me much closer to the actual date. I also love that this record provides confirmation of so much information pertinent to my genealogical research, since in addition to the names and birth dates of the couple, it gives names, including maiden names, of both sets of parents.

Here's a transcript of the record:

MARRIAGE RECORD [page] 328
MARRIAGE LICENSE APPLICATION.

No. 17199

IN THE MATTER OF
Galen W. Rote and
Lulu Craun

} Probate Court, Lucas County, Ohio
To the Honorable Judge of the Probate Court of said County:

The undersigned respectfully makes application for a Marriage License for said parties, and upon oath states; that said Galen W. Rote
is 23 years of age on the 7th day of March 1911,
his residence is New Castle Penna,
his place of birth is Harrisburg Penna,
his occupation is Machinist,
his father's name is Alpheus Rote,
his mother's maiden name was Ella Ward,
that he was not previously married [and is (crossed out) ___] and that he has no legal wife living.

The said Lulu Craun
is 23 years of age on the 26th day of July 1911,
her residence is Toledo Ohio,
in said Lucas County, Ohio,
her place of birth is Butler Indiana,
her occupation is Clerk,
her father's name is Jesse Craun,
her mother's maiden name was Mary Beck,
that she was not previously married ____,
and is not a widow or divorced woman, [her mar-
ried name being (crossed out) ____]
that she has no legal husband living _____

Said parties are not nearer kin than second cousins, and there are no legal impediment to their marriage
That neither of said party is an habitual drunkard, epleptic, imbecile or insane, and is not under the influence of any intoxicating liquor or narcotic drug. It is expected that Rev Ballinger
will solemize the marriage of said parties. Lulu Craun (her signature) Galen W. Rote (his signature)

Sworn to and before me and signed in my presence this 29th day of August 1911
OBrian ODonnell (his signature) Probate Judge. C.L.Conlisk (his signature) Deputy Clerk Probate Court.

Note that information in square brackets has been used for text that was crossed out and parentheses indicate my notes regarding immediately preceding text.

Genealogy Helps Link Us Together

The past couple of weeks have been exciting for me, as I am getting to know a couple of second cousins I've never met. We found each other through Geni.com and have been corresponding via email.

Ever since I was a child, I've been curious about my mother's family. My dad's family in Florida we visited nearly every year, so I knew them well, but aside from my maternal grandmother who moved to El Paso shortly after we did and lived there until her death when I was seven, I never had the opportunity to meet my mother's family.

Luella Jean Rote Lloyd

My mother, Luella Jean Rote, was born in Sandusky, Ohio, and she grew up there. Her only sibling was a sister, Marion Virginia Rote, about  two years older, who died (of scarlet fever, according to my dad's unpublished and unfinished autobiography) when my mom was seven. As mentioned before, my mother's mother, Lulu or Lula Craun, died when I was a child. My mother's father died years earlier, while my mother was still in college.

Most of the family stories my mom told were of the good times she had with her sister. I was pretty sure she had cousins, but I didn't hear much about them. One thing that always fascinated me, as any romantic child would be fascinated, was that her grandfather, her father's father, had owned a confectionery store. She spoke of how much she loved to visit, and I always had the impression that her enjoyment of the store came more from her love for her grandfather than for the candy, sodas, and milkshakes she might have obtained there.

My researches into my mother's family lines has yielded far less information than those into my father's. Some lines in my father's family have been traced (and here, I must stand on the shoulders of genealogical giants) into the 1200s, since the Lloyd family has a number of prominent individuals, among them Thomas Lloyd,  lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania under William Penn between 1690 and 1693. The Rotes are a more mysterious lot. According to Ancestry.com, the Rotes in America are descended from a very small number of immigrants. Most Rotes entering the United States departed ports in Norway or Germany, with a few others departing from England, Ireland,  Prussia, and Italy, and most settled in Pennsylvania. Even the origins of the name are obscure, although most sources indicate it comes from the German names Rot, Roth, or Rothe, all variants of the word rot, meaning red.

However, my questions have been much less concerned with tracing the Rotes into antiquity, and more with trying to understand my mother's family. So, it has delighted me to have, after so many years, finally found close relatives on my mother's side of the family. I'm currently in contact with two women, both granddaughters of John Charles "Jack" Rote, my mother's father's next younger brother. We've been having a grand time sending emails back and forth, as we trace the connection, fill in gaps, and share pictures. I've learned that my great-grandfather's confectionery store passed into Jack's possession, and later into one of his son's and then a daughter's hands, and remains in the family to this day. Should you have the opportunity to visit New Castle, PA, I hope you get a chance to visit Rote's on Arlington Avenue and, please, tell them you were sent by a long-lost relative. Someday, I hope to visit, myself.

ETA (19 March 2013): Today I am, very much delayed, updating this post. Three days after I published the post, I received the following correction:

I don't think we know that Jack took over the same store from Alpheus, just that they both had confectionaries. Jack's obit worded it as "he opened a store", rather than that he took over from his father. And the chain of possession from Jack was to his son Art … then to Art's son Danny …, and then to Art's daughter Dale ….

My apologies to all and sundry for the unconscionable delay in making the correction.

Matrilineal Lineage

Over on Geneamusings.com, Randy Seaver has suggested that folks post their matrilineal lines. It's taken me several hours, including interruptions, to get this post done, in large part because I wound up discovering new information about my father's mother's line. Or, at least, new for me.

My matrilineal line is:

• me -> Pamela D. Lloyd: b. Chicago, Illinois
• my mother -> Luella Jean Rote: b. July 2, 1921 in Sandusky Ohio, d. January 17, 1999 in El Paso, Texas; m. Winston D. Lloyd in November 1957 in international waters between the US and Canada, a second ceremony was performed in January 1958 in Ann Arbor, Michigan
• her mother -> Lulu Craun: b. July 26, 1889 in Indiana, d. February 21, 1966 in El Paso, TX; m. Galen Weiker Rote
• her mother -> Maryann Beck: b. September 1855 in Ohio, d. aft. 1920; m. John Craun in 1885 in Butler, Indiana

I have not had my mitochondrial DNA tested.

Please note, I have been able to discover very little about my mother's family, so if you think you may have information about any of the people mentioned here, I'd be delighted to learn about it.

On the Lloyd side, the matrilineal line of my father is:

• my father -> Winston Dale Lloyd: b. Pensacola, Florida
• his mother -> Inez (Sissy) Minerva Herrington: b. in Pensacola, Florida, d. January 24, 1986 in Pensacola, Floria
  m. Elmer Bruce Lloyd on July 7, 1922 in Pensacola, Florida
• her mother -> Ezella F. Boykin: b. August 26, 1866 in Quincy, Florida, d. January 14, 1959 in Mobile, Alabama
  m. Isaac Newton Herrington on December 29, 1885 in Jackson County, Florida
• her mother -> Jane Carolina McKeown: b. October 1845 in South Carolina, d. aft. 1900; m. James Cornelius Boykin in 1881
• her mother -> Sidnah Flemon Clark: b. December 2, 1820 in Chester South Carolina, d. July 13, 1902 in Gadsden, Florida
  m. Rev. Oliver Evans McKeown in South Carolina
• her mother -> Jane McClintock: b. Noevember 13, 1798 in Chester, South Carolina, d. August 1872) m. Alexander Clark in 1817 in South Carolina
• her mother -> Sidnah Flemming: b. 1776 in Virginia, d. January 20, 1839 in South Carolina
  m. Matthew McClintock
• her mother -> Sidneh Rosine: b. 1735 in Sweden, d. 1810 in Winsboro (Winsborough), South Carolina
  m1. Brown (widowed, circa 1759, while pregnant and living in Pennsylvania when, according to an unconfirmed story, her husband and first son were killed by "Indians" and she was taken captive; her second son was born in captivity and later went on to become an "Indian hunter.")
  m2. George Fleming in 1762, in Virginia

Although variants of Sidneh's story can be found in a number of places, the original version appears to be told in "A Brief Sketch of the Coulter Family in America."

Resources for Genealogists and Family Historians

Over on Genea-Musings, Randy Seaver has posted Comments on the 1940 U.S. Census RFQ and SOW.* What this means is that the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is looking for bids on the work of indexing the 1940 U.S. Census.

Near the bottom of the post, Randy Seaver offers his opinion regarding free access to these records, and the agreements between the NARA and various commercial sites. In this context, he stated, 

I think that NARA will eventually host the census on its own site, with one of the name indexes available from some provider for use in a NARA facility.  That's the type of agreement they made with Ancestry.com, Footnote.com, FamilySearch.org, etc. to permit indexing of other NARA databases they are free to access in a NARA facility.

It was this mention that made me realize that I may not be taking full advantage of the NARA's free resources. A quick check of the NARA's site turned up Resources for Genealogists and Family Historians, which provides a wealth of online resources.

While on the NARA site, I also learned that my belief that I'd have to go to Washington, DC to access these records may have been incorrect, since they have a number of regional sites around the country; not all of these sites offer the same resources, so if you are planning a visit to one of the regional centers, make sure the records you need are available there.

I live in Tucson, so the nearest NARA site for me is the National Archives at Riverside, CA (Pacific Region), approximately 440 miles from my home. The NARA reports:

We hold historically valuable materials created and collected by Federal agencies and courts in Arizona, southern California, and Clark County, Nevada. These records constitute a major resource for the study of Native American history, Naval history, westward migration, Asian immigration, civil rights, and other subjects.

Since most of my recent ancestors are from the eastern half of the US (my dad was born in Florida, and my mom in Ohio), this doesn't help me much. However, my husband does have some ancestors who lived in these areas. So, if I plan a trip to this location, I'll be focusing on my husband's family.

Like my parents, my dad's parents are from distinctly different regions. For my dad's mother's line (Herrington), the National Archives at Atlanta will be most useful, as most of her close ancestors were from the South. My dad's father was born in Pennsylvania, so to follow his line, I'll have to head north to the NARA's Mid Atlantic Region (Center City Philadelphia), where records for Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia are maintained. My mother's father (Rote) was also born in Pennsylvania, so while I'm there I can try to track down more information about him. Her mother (Craun), however, was born in Indiana, so to track down this branch, I'll have to head over to the Regional Archives for NARA's Great Lakes Region, which are housed in Chicago, Illinois.** Great! Although I was born in Chicago, my parents left when I was a baby and I've wanted to visit for as long as I can remember.

---

Notes
* RFQ = Request for quote; SOW = Statement of Work
** Lines referenced: LLOYD, HERRINGTON, ROTE, CRAUN

Saturday Night Fun: Heritage Pie Chart via Genea-Musings

Over on Genea-Musings, tonight's genealogy task is to create a pie chart, based on your great-great-grandparents.

My great-great-grandparents were as follows:

16. Hiram Lloyd was born in 1825 in King, York, ON, Canada. He died on 14 Apr 1911 at the age of 86 in Sault Ste. Marie, MI, USA. Ellen Hughes and Hiram Lloyd were married on 28 Jul 1848.

17. Ellen Hughes was born on 2 Aug 1825. She died on 11 May 1896 at the age of 70 in Chippewa, MI, USA. She was also known as Ellen Lloyd.

18. Bartholemew Higgins was born on 14 Jun 1801 in Ireland.

19. Susan Swale died in 1871.

20. John A Herrington was born on 14 Jun 1801 in New Hanover, NC, USA. He died on 15 Jul 1859 at the age of 58 in Harrison, MS, USA. Sarah J Mathis and John A Herrington were married estimated 2 May 1825.

21. Sarah J Mathis was born on 29 Nov 1808 in GA, USA. She died on 27 Aug 1878 at the age of 69 in Biloxi, MS, USA. She was also known as Sarah J Herrington.

22. James Cornelius Boykin was born on 9 Mar 1843. He died on 28 Nov 1885 at the age of 42 in Sneads, FL, USA.

23. Jane Carolina McKeown was also known as Jane Carolina Boykin. She was born on 20 Jun 1845 in Chester City, SC, USA. She died on 7 Oct 1877 at the age of 32 in Sneeds, FL, USA.

24. William Rote was born estimated 1814 in PA, USA.

25. Martha Rote was born estimated 1823 in PA, USA.

26. John Ward was born (date unknown).

28. James Craun was born on 16 Oct 1820.

29. Martha McEwen was also known as Martha Craun. She was born estimated 1827.

Here's a pie chart showing where each was born:

Obviously, I'm missing a lot of information. If, by any chance, you happen to have more information about any of these individuals, I'd love to hear from you.