June 25, 2009 - Bugs, Spiders, Butterflies and Great-Grandmother Marie - Part 9

Morning,

I've come up with a brilliant idea! And except for the one little small detail, it really makes sense. It's the "creepy crawly" effect. I spent the day yesterday cleaning the kitchen pantry. And as usual there was the normal infestation of those type of bugs that attack all type of grain and grain-based food. It seems that as the weather gets warmer, the infestation grows. And then the infestation attracts the spiders. Well the spiders eat the bugs.

So I thought that I could train an army of spiders to co-exist in my pantry and give them free access to all the bugs they want. There's only one problem. When I reach into the shelves I'm greeted with web filaments, and there is one thing I detest, spider web threads coating my skin. And so out came the pantry contents, I vacuumed and cleaned, and sprayed the interior of the cupboards with a diluted bleach mixture. And I'll get bay leaves to spread around.

And then I had to clip the Italian parsley outside which was under attack by an army of black swallowtail caterpillars. They love parsley and so do I... and so I'll have to plant more next season... for me and the black swallowtails.

Brilliant colors of green and yellow and black, and every time I touched one of the buggers it shot out a pair of retractable orange antennae. I love butterflies, so I just moved them to another part of the backyard. And there's a new batch of monarch caterpillars on the milkweed. And that's my lesson in entomology.

Following Part 8 of my trek to learn as much as I can about my great-grandmother Marie Antoinette C. (née July) Abraham, I continue.

As a side note, and regarding collateral research I discovered more information of 2nd cousins once removed Patricia and Beverly Bulah, also spelled Beulah. Per the California Death Index, 1940-1997 cousin Patricia (née Beulah) McKenna was born in California, 14 December 1921. She passed way in Los Angeles, on 31 December 1983. Her sister, cousin Beverly (née Bulah) Moodie who was born 2 May 1925, in California and passed away 20 July 1986 in Ventura, California. I also discovered from the same Index that their father Charles Bulah was born 7 Jan 1893 and passed away in Los Angeles on 26 July 1969. His mother's maiden name is given as Buell. I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that the data entry for her granddaughter Patricia's named is entered in the index as Patricia Beulah (née Beulah) McKenna.

I then discovered that great-grandaunt Célestine's daughter, Muriel C., 1st cousin twice removed remarried to a Thompson, no other information. And both the California Death and the Social Security Death Indexes report her passing in March 1980 in Ventura, California.

But I need to get back to my great-grandmother Marie, my bloodline. It does not appear that great-grandaunt Célestine line, of my collateral line, will provide me any more immediate clues to great-grandmother Marie, at this juncture... so I think.

So I've answered the question as to why great-grandmother Marie left Georgetown, British Guiana and ended up in San Diego, California; to see her sister, great-grandaunt Célestine. Makes sense, so far... but the next question could be "Why did great-grandaunt Célestine Marie (née July) St. Philippe go to San Diego?" And one thing you learn in the practice of genealogy is never to assume anything. Come up with some logical and not so logical possibilities, but never assume. You have to have something to back up the statements.

In this case I could "assume" that great-grandaunt Célestine, with Muriel, left Georgetown, British Guiana for San Diego. When I first read the 1920 US Census I read what I could decipher was that Muriel was born in Berbice. (Check back to Part 3 for a copy of the 1920 Census.) Well my limited knowledge is that Berbice equals British Guiana (now Guyana). So again "Why did great-grandaunt Célestine travel from British Guyana to California?" The 1920 Census reports that she and Muriel immigrated to the United States in 1908. Okay, find a 1910 US Census. Muriel would have been about 6-years old when they arrived. Maybe her birth location could be a bit more legible. To date I haven't found a copy of a 1910 US Census which includes their names.

Next step look for a passenger manifest. Success! The 1906 List Or Manifest Of Alien Passengers For The Commissioner of Immigration from Barbados... but under the spelling of Mrs. Celestine St. Philips, see the inserted clipping to the right. And two rows down, (I can't answer why not immediately after her mother), is Meriel St. Philips who is two years old. And it is written that her, Muriel's Country of Nationality is Barbados. So my question changes... "Why did great-grandaunt Célestine leave Barbados and travel to the United States?" One point of note is that on the Manifest she is noted as "W" for Widow. And more curious, which of course has me baffled is that her Country of Nationality is France. But wait a minute. French Guiana is a French colony, therefore a part of France.

Well, why did she leave Barbados?

To be continued in Part 10...

Enjoy,

Jim