Happy Birthday Nino.....Tersilla Brondolo Took a Trip Back to Italy in 1934

 

  Today, March 31, is my Nino's birthday....she was born in Vesime, Italy on March 31, 1911.  She is my paternal grandmother, but she will always be Nino to me. She came to the United States at the age of 5 and was raised and educated in San Francisco.  In the spring of 1934, at the age of 23, she made a trip back to Italy to see family that was still there and do some sightseeing.  I thought I would share her Italian passport from that trip. The above picture is one of my favorites of her as a young woman.  It was her passport picture taken in 1934.  

Passport Cover 

Inside cover.  She was not accompanied by anyone...she went by herself! 

Page two.  Her signature was beautiful.  

Professione...profession...stenografa...stenographer

figlia di..daughter of...Pietro

nat a...born  Vesime

31 Marzo 1911 

statura...stature....not sure! I think it translates to 5'2"

occhi...eyes...castagni...chestnut

capelli...hair...chestnut 

barba...beard.....none

baffi...moustache...none

colorito...complexion?....roseo...rosy

segni particoloari...particular signs...none

Her passport was issued by the Italian Consulate in San Francisco. She was still an Italian citizen, as she didn't apply for naturalization in the U.S. until 1932.  She became a U.S. Citizen on 14 September, 1936, two years after this trip. 

                                           It is still located at 2950 Webster Street, San Francisco.                                                                                                                                                                         

The fourth pages of the passport...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

The last pages...I wish my Italian was better....

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

 Nino arrived back in New York on October 3rd, 1934 after sailing from Genoa on the S.S, Rex  (Ancestry.com New York, Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists 1820-1857 for Tersilla Palmina Brondolo).  She had $10.00 in her pocket!  

  

I've shared this picture before, but here it is again. I'm sure Nino loved every minute of being a tourist in her home country on this trip.   Here she is in Florence with the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore  in the background.  The dome was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi in 1436. 

  

   Nino remained an avid traveler the rest of her life.  She enjoyed many, many trips to all parts of the globe with family members and friends. As always, she traveled with a sense of adventure and a deep appreciation for the beauty around her.  

                                  Buon compleanno!  Tia amo! 

    Relationship Reference:  Me->Dale Boothby->Tersilla Palmina Brondolo Boothby b. 31 March 1911 Vesime Italy d. 3 September 1995 Sonoma, California.  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Burrows Working Tree....Jane White Writes to Her Brother Alexander Burrows on June 26th 1890

 

  Photo Credit: Omedia from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage website October 2020

Rosses Point, Sligo.  The Metal Man navigation beacon has been located mid channel between Rosses Point and Oyster Island in Sligo Harbor since 1821.  Jane White would surely have seen the Metal Man on her visit to Rosses Point in June of 1890.  

Rosses Point Beach. It was a popular Victorian era seaside resort when Jane visited in 1890.  The area is still a tourist destination that advertises family friendly beaches, B&B's, pubs, cafes and golf courses. 

   Here is the letter that Jane Burrows White wrote to Alexander Burrrows, my Great Great Grandfather.  Jane was his older sister, born in 1838. She married Adam Eliott White in 1866.  The transcription with notes follows. 

  

Letter folded into fourths front side.  The letter begins on the right half of the page. Page 4 is on the left hand side. 

  

Back side pages 2 and 3 

Inserted letter folded into fourths front side, right hand side. 

Inserted letter back side pages 2 and 3

  

This transcription is a collaborative work between myself and several dna cousins whom I have been corresponding with through email.   I have added punctuation and corrected spelling to make the letter easier to read.  Imagine the first letter folded in half  to make a rectangle.  Then, add another inserted letter folded into smaller segments.  These were all then folded again into a square to fit into a small envelope. This letter was discovered with quite a few Burrows letters this summer, and is one of three written by Jane. 

Page 1 actually starts on the right side....

  

  

     Jane's handwriting and lack of punctuation made transcription very difficult.  Her thoughts flowed across the pages and it took many tries to figure out her intentions.  Other passages were not hard at all...especially her thoughts on how much she missed her "scattered" family and how she knew she would never see them again on this earth.  She was worried about brother Adam, who ended up in the Sligo asylum.  She was worried about the distribution of the will after her father died almost a year from the date of this letter. She was worried about her health, and thought that two weeks by the ocean might do her some good. She passed away in 1918 at the age of  80.  According to a dna cousin, her death certificate indicated that she died from "senile decay and exhaustion".  I hope that Rosses Point provided her with some rest and relaxation for a little while. 

Rosses Point with the Metal Man in the channel. 

A modern map of Sligo Bay and  Rosses Point Village  from the  website rossespoint/.ie

Burrows Working Tree ..... John Burrows Writes to His Brother Alexander Burrows in 1885

 

  John Burrows wrote a second letter to his brother  Alexander Burrows in April of 1885.  He was living in St. Louis as of the 1880 US Census with his wife Maggie, their daughter Francis, his sister in law and his niece.  By the time he wrote this letter he was doing well working for the Waters Pierce Oil Company, and was getting ready to pack his HHG (household goods) to make a move to Mobile, Alabama for a year.  He and his wife had lost their son Thomas in 1882 and his wife was still in delicate health. He was hoping the climate change would do her some good.  It also sounds like Alexander had written him back with updates on his growing family in Grass Valley. 

   Although John's handwriting is very legible, I have transcribed the letter as follows...

(Page 1)

                               Waters Pierce Oil Company

                                                          St. Louis  4/7/1885

Dear Brother

                   I have had yours of March 3rd for some days but being very busy could not answer it till now.

        I am packing up my H.H. G. [household goods] getting ready for to take up my home in Ala[bama] probably Mobile. I expect to get away from hear [sic] early next week.  I am going there on a good salary to take charge of a branch of one line of goods for the above firm with whom I have been for the last four years.  Thus sending me so far away is a prettie [sic] good indication of my having given them satisfaction.

  I was glad to learn you were doing so well.

  I had a letter a few days since from Fanny Porteus in which she said she heard Robt White was paying Emmys passage to this country and that Father had given up everything at

(Page 2)

Drum to you.  This is all the news I have had from them for some time.

  Hope yourself and family are well.

  My wife is in pretty good health now but not near as good as we'd wish, but are in hopes a change of climate may benefit her.

  I have rented my home for one year as I intend to remain that long away at least.

When I get settled I will send you my new address.

                    Yours

                       J Burrows

  The Robert White that John refers to is most likely Robert Alexander White, the son of Jane Burrows White (sister of Alexander and John  Burrows).   How and why he paid for Emmy's passage to America is a mystery.  The 1901 Ireland Census lists himself working as a farmer, as well as his father Elliott Adam White.  The 1911 Census lists Robert as a Land Lord.  Was Jane somehow involved in moving finances around so that her sister could go to America? 

  Fanny Porteus was the daughter of Margaret Burrows Porteus (another sister of Alexander, John and Jane). She married John Graham in 1890. She and Robert were cousins close in age, so she may have known more details about Emmy's trip to America. 

  

There was also some question as to who was going to be willed the property of Alexander Sr. in Drum.  Was it going to Alexander?  Was John fishing for information from Alexander to pass on to family in Sligo?  We know from the letter written in 1878 that Alexander Sr. was writing to Alexander in America for legal advise, so there was communication between father and son there.  It is interesting to note that after Alexander Sr. died in 1889 his will specified that his house and land in Drum was bequeathed to the younger son Tom while other family members received smaller shares from the sale of the farm in Largan.  

  There are more letters to be transcribed; three from sister Jane White, several from sister Emmy and one from sister Elizabeth in New York written to her niece Francis Burrows in America (John's daughter).  There may be clues to be sure!  

 John died in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1914.  By that time he owned his own oil company.  His daughter Francis  married Dr. James T. Riley in 1910 and they lived in El Reno, Oklahoma.  Francis died in 1933 at the Mayo Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota where she was being treated for an illness.  She was buried at Fairlawn Cemetery with her parents. Francis and James did not have any children.  

 John Elliott Burrows Obituary from 17 January 1914 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Mrs. James Riley was John's daughter Francis.  

The Burrows Family Plot found in Fairlawn Cemetery Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Find A Grave

John Elliott Burrows  Dec. 25 1847-Jan 16 1914

Margaret O'Leary Burrows March 31 1841-May 24 1925

Francis Burrows Riley Feb. 26 1880-Aug. 7 1933

Find A Grave

Full view of headstone.  There is an interesting symbol carved into the cross, which resembles a dollar sign.  It is actually the letters I, H and S superimposed over each other.  The letters represent the Greek letters Iota (I), Eta (H) and Sigma (S) which are the first three letters of Jesus in Greek.  From Cemeteries and Cemetery Symbols     https://cemeteries.wordpress.com/

**************************************************************************

 The following tree is our "working tree".  It will change as we do more research, fit more pieces together and verify family members.  This is the basic tree as of now. 

Alexander Burrows of Carrowcrin (based on his will of 1834) father to....

*

               Alexander Burrows of Drum (based on his will of 1889) m.  Francis "Fanny" Elliot (based on the marriage registration of John Burrows and Margaret O'Leary) parents of.....

*

1. Margaret Burrows Porteus (married Robert Porteus) of Clara

*daughter Francis "Fanny" Burrows Graham

2. Jane Burrows (married Adam Elliott White) of Sligo

 *son Robert Alexander White born at Whitehall, County Leitrim

3. Adam Burrows (lived at the asylum in Sligo)

4. Alexander Burrows (married Elizabeth Jane Hurd in America) my G G Grandparents

5. John Elliott Burrows (came to America) m. Margaret O'Leary in St. Louis. Children Francis Burrows Riley and Thomas A. Burrows.

6. Thomas Burrows (bequeathed house and land in Drum and was to look after Adam per will of 1889)

7.  Ismena  "Emmy" Burrows (spent time in America but went back home to Ireland)

8. Elizabeth Burrows (came to America and married Hermann Bucher) in New York, was called Emma (based on letters written by Hermann Bucher)

Burrows Working Tree....John Burrows Writes to His Brother Alexander Burrows in 1884

    This next letter I am sharing was written 6 years after the letter that Alexander Burrows of Drum wrote to Alexander Burrows (my Great Great Grandfather) in 1878 (see 10/28/21...A Voice From the Past).  This letter was written to my Great Great Grandfather by his younger brother John Elliott Burrows. 

   John was born in Sligo in 1849 and was two years younger than Alexander. John came to America at around the same time as Alexander. He may have even come before Alexander, as  he appears in the 1870 US Census as a 21 year old living in New Orleans and working as a clerk in Cassady's Hotel.  Hugh Cassady was listed as the Hotel Keeper and was originally from Ireland, as were most of his tenants. The family story is that Alexander Burrows came to America around 1871 or 1872.  

  By the 1880 US Census John was living in St. Louis, Missouri at 809 Barlow Street with his wife Maggie (O'Leary) Burrows. The couple was living with their daughter Francis, sister in law Jennie O'Leary and a niece, Jennie Greene.  The box where John's occupation was supposed to be listed is interestingly left blank.  

  By 1884, John was still living in St. Louis (address unreadable) and was able to send a letter to his older brother.  Alexander Burrows was living in Grass Valley with my Great Great Grandmother Elizabeth Jane Hurd Burrows and their growing family.  This letter gives a wonderful glimpse of John's  life in America up to his eventual settling down and finding a career path in the new American oil industry. The transcribed letter comes after the original copy. 

 

    Here is the transcribed letter.  This was a work of collaboration between several Burrow's DNA cousins through email exchanges during the month of January, 2022. 

 (continued....)

    John refers to being in California as well as in the Black Hills (South Dakota) during "the big excitement".  He was probably referring to the discovery of gold in South Dakota around the mid 1870's which eventually led to the Battle of Little Bighorn in Montana Territory  and Custer's Last Stand in 1876.  He may have tried his hand at mining like so many others at that time, because working as a hotel clerk at the age of 21 might not have seemed that glamorous an occupation. He was young enough to be able to travel and experience his new country before marrying Margaret O'Leary in 1878 and landing a job with the Waters-Pierce Oil Company, based in St. Louis.  

St. Louis Marriages 1855-1881 Ancestry.com

  The Waters-Pierce Oil Company was incorporated to deal with naval stores, and to deal in and compound petroleum and other oils and their products.  By 1884 it looks like the Standard Oil Company had purchased Waters-Pierce as a subsidiary of John D. Rockefeller's vast oil empire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Oil 

  John was able to become a successful and valued employee for the company, and was even able to purchase his own house.  I would say that he was as successful as his brother Alexander, who became a lawyer and eventually City Attorney for Grass Valley, California. John would eventually go on to start his own oil company in Oklahoma after the turn of the century. 

 24 May 1914 advertisement Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

  John also refers to the death of his son.  Another DNA cousin was able to locate this little one's Record of Death for June 20th, 1882.  It lists a Thomas A. Burrows (A for Alexander?) age 3 months living in St. Louis on Page Ave. (possibly the same address on the letter).  His cause of death was "congestion of brain", possibly meningitis.  He was buried in the Calvary Cemetery, which is a Catholic cemetery in St. Louis. John's wife Margaret (Maggie) O'Leary was born in Ireland and was Catholic.  

 Death Record for Thomas A. Burrows (at bottom of image) Missouri, U.S. Death Records 1850-1931 Ancestry.com 

 

      It is interesting to note that both brothers had previously been in contact through letters but that Alexander did not share any information of his marriage or family with John. He shared how well he was doing. By 1884 my great grandparents had six children!   Sharing pictures of each other's families was also difficult at the time due to weather and Maggie's  "delicate health".  I hope that eventually John shared pictures with the Burrows in Grass Valley.  I do know that when Alexander committed suicide in 1904 a letter from his niece Francis was found in his hotel room which suggests that communication was continued into the turn of the century from his brother's family. In fact, that tidbit of information first led me to uncover John's family and add them to the Burrow's tree.  John's letter(s) confirmed his family information. 

  And then we come to the information in the letter regarding the Ireland Burrows.  John mentions brother Tom (Thomas Burrows b. 1856) and sister Emmy.  She may or may not be the same person as Ismena.  There is some confusion with the names Emma/Emmy and Ismena, as there was another sister named Elizabeth who went by Emma and was married to a Hermann Bucher in New York.  This Emmy was still living in Drum with Alexander Burrows of Drum by 1884.  He passed away in 1889.  Apparently the funds were not available for the family in Drum to hire on a servant for an unknown reason.   The funds from the Manorhamilton property were used for the upkeep of brother Adam Burrows who was in the Sligo Workhouse as he was an "imbecile".  The grandfather mentioned may have been Adam Elliott (father to Fanny Francis Elliott wife of Alexander of Drum) who passed away in 1878 and was mentioned in the letter written in 1878 (see post of 10/28/21).  The death of the doctor mentioned may refer to Dr. Thomas Burrows, brother to Alexander Burrows of Drum who passed away in 1883.  There is still some confusion as to whether he was a brother, or a cousin at this point. Research is ongoing. 

  So, from this letter and other resources found on Ancestry.com  I can add John Elliott Burrows, his wife Margaret O'Leary, their daughter Francis and their son Thomas A. to the Burrows working tree.  

*************************************************************

  The following tree is our "working tree".  It will change as we do more research, fit more pieces together and verify family members.  This is the basic tree as of now. 

Alexander Burrows of Carrowcrin (based on his will of 1834) father to....

*

               Alexander Burrows of Drum (based on his will of 1889) m. Fanny Francis Elliot (based on the marriage registration of John Burrows and Margaret O'Leary) parents of.....

*

1. Margaret Burrows Porteus (married Rober Porteus) of Clara

2. Jane Burrows (married Adam Elliott White) of Sligo

3. Adam Burrows (lived at the asylum in Sligo)

4. Alexander Burrows (married Elizabeth Jane Hurd in America) my G G Grandparents

5. John Elliott Burrows (came to America) m. Margaret O'Leary in St. Louis. Children Francis and Thomas A. Burrows.

6. Thomas Burrows (was to look after Adam per will of 1889)

7.  Ismena Burrows (possibly spent time in America but went back home to Ireland)

8. Elizabeth Burrows (came to America and married Hermann Bucher) in New York, was called Emma (based on letters written by Hermann Bucher)

Views of a Trip to Cliff House....Updated!

   What a difference a week makes.....

  If you have read previous posts relating to San Francisco, you know how much I love to use social media to connect with other people interested in the history of the area.  It has helped tremendously with my genealogy research, and has even brought about exciting connections (August 15, 2021 The Jackson Street House).

   Last week I posted a picture of Emma King (my great grandmother) and her father Charles J. King taking a walk on Ocean Beach with Cliff House in the far distance. It was one of three pictures from the King Album that were taken at this location and was probably taken around 1903-1905. After posting, I thought that the above picture would be a good one to share on social media, also. 

   I shared this picture on the FaceBook group San Francisco History to the 1920's to specifically point out the detail of the  Lurline Pier in the middle ground, as I thought the history of the pipeline was interesting and that not many people would know about it.  The post received almost 600 likes and lots of interesting comments.  One member soberly commented that her great grandfather, a grocer on Sutter Street, drowned off the Olympic Pier (the other name for the Lurline Pier) after one of his regular weekly swims in 1907.  It seems he would go out for two to three hours every Friday afternoon and was considered one of the best swimmers in the area. He sadly did not make it back on that day.  Others commented that they too had family pictures taken around the same location. Others had memories of getting splinters from the pier (it was taken down in 1967) or of swimming in one of the several salt water pools the pipeline delivered water to in town.  But the biggest surprise of all was when I got a private message from Gary S.    .........

  In my last post I recommended going to the website cliffhouseproject.com for more  in-depth information on Cliff House history.  Well, as it turns out, Gary is the creator of the website!  He said he loved the photo and asked if I would  consider letting him include the photograph on his website. So, after several back and forth emails and sharing of information, the King Album with the three pictures is now a part of the website.  He was very interested in the middle picture...as he has been trying to figure out what the stand/pavilion to the left of the picture was there for.  This picture was one of the few that he had seen of an up close view.   He said that he works with about a dozen local San Francisco historians and said they love to "deep dive" into photographs like these.  They still don't know what was going on at the pavilion! 

  Here is the full link to the website and to the King Album, which is now a shared part of collective San Francisco history, thanks to social media. 

                                              http://www.cliffhouseproject.com/albums/KingAlbum/album.htm

*********************

  

    And, I have more information on this picture as well.  After conversations with Mom (Margaret) and her dive into the trunk that holds some of the original glass plates that belonged to Lester F. Hayes, we determined that he did indeed take the picture.  To me it initially looked like a souvenir photograph that had been tinted as were so many postcards and pictures taken at the time. But, he had etched his name "L. Hayes" on the glass negative and then probably developed and tinted it on his own.  He was an aspiring photographer and had a studio on 22nd Street.   Either Nana or Granna added the colored pencil details later on.  That makes this picture even more special. 

  I also updated last week's post and with the help of my daughter added the YouTube video from 1903 taken on Ocean Beach. You are now one click away from being on the same beach as Emma and Charles at around the same time.  The video can also be found under "films" on the Cliff House Project website. 

   

The next big project is to get all the glass negatives scanned and reproduced. There are a few earthquake pictures that will be interesting to explore, as well as several of Nana (Emma) that I have not seen before.  Saving family history is a family effort, but well worth it! Thank you all. 

Relationship Reference:  Me->Margaret Hansen Boothby->Margaret Elizabeth Hayes Hansen->Emma King Hayes Van Duzer->Charles and Ann King

Friday's Featured Photograph (s) The King Album......Views of A Trip To Cliff House

   This is a tinted picture of the famous Cliff House in San Francisco.  It is in the King Family Album, and is one of three pictures in the album taken of the landmark.  The pictures can be dated to some time before September 7th, 1907, as the structure burned down on that date after having survived the 1906 San Francisco Great Earthquake and Fire.  

    This picture was printed on a heavier card stock than the rest of the photographs in the album and very well could have been a souvenir photograph that was tinted.   It is 10" by 6 1/2".  If you look closely, you can see hints of yellow, blue and pink on the horizon and in the sky, done in colored pencil by someone at a later date.  Perhaps Emma, or maybe her mother Anna made the pencil additions while remembering the visit to Cliff House.  An intriguing mystery! 

The same photograph, enlarged to show the detail of the building and cliff. You can see the pencil additions to the sky. They do not detract from the photograph, but add another layer to the story. 

 

The entrance to the Cliff House.  It looks like you could perhaps purchase souvenirs at the shaded booth on the left.  

 

An enlarged view of the same photograph.  The house was a beautiful structure, built after the first Cliff House burned down in 1894.  This is Cliff House number 2, rebuilt by Adolph Sutro for the grand sum of $75,000.  It was fashioned after a French Chateau. It burned down in the span of two hours. 

  

  I have shared this picture previously, but I will share it again, as it was taken at the same time as the above picture. You can see the Lurline or Olympic Pier in the background.  The pier  was built to protect the intake pipe that provided sea water to the Lurline Baths on Bush and Larkin streets.  Members of the public could rent a bathing suit and swim in either heated or cold pools for 30 cents.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lurline_Baths).

   This must have been a lovely excursion to the seaside, with a long walk down Ocean  Beach. Perhaps it was taken on a Sunday afternoon.  The day looks bright and sunny.  My Great Grandmother, Emma King, is on the left with her father Charles J. King on the right. This picture certainly gives us a sense of place and time.  It is wonderful that we can still go back and revisit this trip to the seaside by opening the album and turning the pages. 

   I would date this excursion at around 1903-04.  Emma looks like she might be around 15-16 years of age, and Charles is wearing a bowler hat typically seen around this time. The King family had previously been living in Grass Valley, California, and had moved to San Francisco around these dates.   They were living on Golden Gate Avenue at the time of the earthquake in 1906. 

Below is a YouTube video entitled Panorama of Ocean Beach and Cliff House (1903) H. J. Miles.  If you look closely in the beginning of the video, you can see windmills in the background.  And lots of bowler hats!

 For more information on Cliff House history, please take a look at https://cliffhouse.com/history/

Relationship Reference:  Me->Margaret Hansen Boothby->Margaret Elizabeth Hayes Hansen->Emma Lavinia King Hayes Van Duzer->Charles J. King