#17 Jennie McKeiver

Birth
Jennie or Jenny McKeiver or McIver was born on February 22, 1884 [1], or April 1885 [2] in New York, USA.

Early Years
Jennie had lived in an institution for the blind (though I don't think she herself was blind) on 9th Ave in New York City from birth until 11 or 12 years old. When she developed pneumonia she was sent to live on a farm in Glenville or Charlton, New York with Margaret Hayes, who later adopted her.

This is the only photo I have of her in her youth and I'm not sure if she's on the horse or on the ground, though I suspect on the horse.

Marriage
Jennie married Joseph Amedee M. in Charlton, NY around 1904 (based on their having moved to Park Extension in Quebec 4 years after getting married, and they were in Canada by 1908). 

Family
Joseph and Jennie's son (my great-grandfather) Marlen Elzear was born on September 20, 1907, in Schenectady, New York, USA. He was baptized at home at 402 Howard St, Schenectady

Sometime after May 1908 they returned to Canada [2] and their son Herbert Emerson was born in March 1909 in Quebec City, Quebec. 

At the 1911 Census Jennie and Joseph were living in the Jacques-Cartier District of Quebec.[2] Their daughter Margaret McKeiver was born on January 5, 1912, in Montreal, Quebec.

Canada’s entry into World War I in August 1914 transformed daily life when Jennie McKeiver lived in Jacques-Cartier, Quebec.

One summer Jennie won for having the most beautiful flower garden. She also made paper flower designs.[3]

Death of Son
Her son Marlen Elzear (1907–1930) passed away on March 29, 1930, in Montreal, Quebec, at the age of 22.

Death of Husband
Her husband Joseph Amedee (1885–1957) passed away on September 25, 1957, in Montréal, Quebec, at the age of 72.

Death
Jennie McKeiver died on January 5, 1960, in Montreal, Quebec, when she was 75 years old.[1] She was buried at Hawthorn Dale Cemetery.


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Sources:
1. Reports of Deaths of American Citizens Abroad, 1835-1974
2. 1911 Census of Canada
3. Per her great-granddaughter R. M., April 2019


Family lore tells that Jennie was born out of wed lock. Her mother's last name was believed to be Vanderbilt ("of New York") and it was kept a hidden manner. Her mother stayed with a family by the name Marlen in New York and the baby was then raised by that family. This is given as explanation for the multiple children named Marlen in the family.

#9 Ruby Elizabeth Rosina Wade (my paternal ggrandmother)

Ruby Elizabeth Rosina Wade (my paternal great-grandmother) was born in Middlesex, London, England on December 14, 1904. Her mother Elizabeth Holloway was 19, and her father Sidney Thomas Wade was 20.

Siblings

Back row: Sydney Jr., May. Sitting: Ruby, Ethel (?), Sydney

Her older sister May Violet Wade (1903–1980) was born on August 22, 1903 in Middlesex, London, England.

Her brother Sydney Thomas (1906–1983) was born on July 5, 1906, in London, London, England, when Ruby Elizabeth Rosina was 1 year old.

She may have had a sister named Ethel but no other details are known about Ethel, other than she may be in this photo.

Her sister Winnifred Gladys (1910–1972) was born on October 9, 1910, in Uxbridge, Middlesex, England, when Ruby Elizabeth Rosina was 5 years old.

Her brother William (1912-?) was born on December 10, 1912, in England when Ruby Elizabeth Rosina was 7 years old.

Ruby's mother Elizabeth (1885–1918) passed away on November 8, 1918, in Uxbridge, Middlesex, England, when she was only 32. She reportedly died of the flu and it could well have been the ‘Spanish Flu.’ This global pandemic in 1918 was one of the greatest medical disasters of the 20th century. 

More people died of influenza in that single year than in the four years of the Black Death Bubonic Plague from 1347 to 1351. By the end of pandemic, only one region in the entire world had not reported an outbreak: an isolated island called Marajo, located in Brazil’s Amazon River Delta.[1]

Ruby's father Sidney remarried between 1921, when he was listed as a widower on the Census, and 1923. His wife Mary Ann Burr was known as Polly.

Her half-brother George Stanley (1924–1989) was born on October 31, 1924, in Montreal, Quebec, when Ruby was 19 years old.

Early Years

When the 1911 Census of England and Wales was taken on the night of Sunday, April 2nd, 1911 Ruby lived in Hillingdon, Middlesex, England. Her father listed her as Ruby Rosena Wade.

England Heatwave 1911
Ruby and her family no doubt suffered along with other residents of Hillingdon, Middlesex when an oppressive heatwave ravaged all of England from July through September 1911.

Immigration 
Ruby's father Sydney arrived in Canada in 1913 [2]. He and Elizabeth came to Canada and sent for the children to come. 

Ruby (age 13), Sydney (age 11), and Winnifred (age 8) came with 14 year old May (who was counted among the adults for travel purposes) from Liverpool, England to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on the ship "Aquitania." Apparently William (age 6 at the time) didn't come to Canada and instead stayed with someone in Britain. I wonder what happened to Ethel?


The RMS Aquitania was a British ocean liner of Cunard Line in service from 1914 to 1950. In the wake of the Titanic sinking, Aquitania was one of the first ships to carry enough lifeboats for all passengers and crew.

In 1918, the ship was in troopship service, conveying North American troops to Britain. Many of these departures were from the port of Halifax, Nova Scotia where the ship's spectacular dazzle paint scheme was captured by artists and photographers. On one occasion Aquitania transported over 8,000 men. During her nine voyages, she transported approximately a total of 60,000 men.[3]

On their trip, the Aquitania was destined for New York and was going via Halifax. It departed Liverpool on May 24, 1918 and arrived on May 29, 1918 at 7:00 a.m. 

They travelled in Steerage with 468 other people and their third-class cabins would have had only a small number of bunk beds. 

Thankfully the ship was given a clean bill of health and no one was held at quarantine.[4] 

The children are considered part of the "third wave" of immigration to Canada (1890–1920) and as immigrants from Britain would have been given highest priority.[5] 

Winnifred's name was on the following page.

Marriage
Somehow Ruby met Marlen, born in Schenectady, New York. It seems his family moved to Canada the year after he was born and he had been in Montreal, Quebec from 1908 to 1925.[6] The marriage license was issued in Oakland County, Michigan, U.S.A.

Ruby Elizabeth Rosina Wade married Marlen Elzear M. in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A, on a cold Friday February 5, 1926. He was born in 1907 [7] which would have made him almost 19 but he put down 22 on the marriage license. She was 21.

Family
Ruby and Marlen had two children during their marriage. 

Their daughter May Gloria Jennie (1926–1977) was born on December 7, 1926, in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A.

Their son Marlen Sidney (1928–2017), my paternal grandfather, was born on August 13, 1928, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Her grandchildren called her Nan. Ruby taught her granddaughter Sandra M. to knit and crochet and eventually gave Sandra all her knitting needles and crochet hooks. 

Death of Husband
Her husband Marlen Elzear passed away tragically in a motorcycle accident on March 29, 1930, in Montreal, Quebec, at the age of 22. The Coroner's Jury determined the cause of death to have been: "Crushing of the thorax - motorcycle accident." Marlen and Ruby had only been married 4 years.

Ruby outlived not only her father (Sidney Thomas passed away in 1961), but also two of her sisters (Winnifred Gladys died in July 1972 and May Violet died on October 13, 1980), and her daughter (May Gloria Jennie passed away in July 1977)

Ruby Elizabeth Rosina Wade died on May 26, 1983, in Montreal, Quebec, when she was 78 years old. Her son Marlen and her grandchildren Sandra and John were in the hospital room with her she took her last breath.

She was buried at Mount Royal Cemetery in the Mount Murray section; lot 238.

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Sources:
1. The Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918, accessed March 3, 2019
2. 1921 Census of Canada
3. Wikipedia: RMS Aquitania, accessed March 3, 2019
4. "Canada Passenger Lists, 1881-1922," Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.
5. Wikipedia: History of immigration to Canada, accessed March 3, 2019
6. Border Crossings: From U.S. to Canada, 1908-1935 
7. 1911 Census of Canada and Reports of Deaths of American Citizens Abroad

#8 Marlen Elzear M. (my paternal ggrandfather)

Elzear/Elzéar seems to have been a rare name even in 1907 when it was passed down to my paternal great-grandfather, Marlen Elzear M. It had been his grandfather (my 3rd great-grandfather)'s name.

According to Geneanet, even at its most popular in 1619, 1647, and 1875 it only accounted for  0.01% of the names used in the family trees published on Geneanet.

It was used primarily in France (23,000), with 18,000 of those being in the Marseille region. The next most popular place for it was Quebec, Canada (17,000), with the majority being around Quebec city.

Were they named after Elzéar Bédard, a lawyer, judge, politician, mayor, Patriote (born 24 July 1799 in Québec, Lower Canada; died 11 August 1849 in Montréal, Canada East)? Depending on where you look Elzear is the patron saint of farming, of Christian gentlemen, of tertiaries (a lay associate of certain Christian monastic organizations).

I don't know why they were given this name, but I think it's unlikely that any of those were the reason.

My 3rd great-grandfather, Elzear M. was born in 1850 in Montréal, Quebec. He was a day labourer, a worker who did whatever physical jobs he could find, usually hired for just days or weeks at a time. 

Joseph, baby Marie-Delia, and Corinne c. 1888

Elzear married Corinne Aube on May 29, 1882, when he was 32 years old and she was 16. Her parents were living in Albany, New York so her uncle, Belone Aube, gave her away. When their son Joseph Amedee M. (my 2nd great-grandfather) was born on May 20, 1885, in Montréal, Quebec the Canadian Pacific Railroad was under construction. His daughter Marie-Delia was born on January 14, 1887 and passed away on March 16, 1889, at the age of 2. She shared a name with a maternal aunt.

Elzear's wife Corinne passed away on July 9, 1889, in Montréal, Quebec, at the age of 23. [2] They had been married 7 years. He married Louise Sophie Verrault that same year.

Little Joseph was only 3 when his little sister died, and 4 when he suffered the loss of his mother.

The story is told that after his mother died he lived in an orphanage - Montford in the Laurentians (Roman Catholic Institution). He ran away from there with a cousin and lived with an aunt in Schenectady, New York. He worked in a General Electric plant there. It is said he played the violin.

Joseph married Jennie McKeiver (marriage date unknown), also an orphan. Born on February 22, 1884 in New York, Jennie had lived in an institution for the blind (though I don't know if she herself was blind) on 9th Ave in New York City from birth until 11 or 12 years old. When she developed pneumonia she was sent to live on a farm in Glenville or Charlton, New York with Margaret Hayes, who later adopted her.

Joseph and Jennie's son (my great-grandfather) Marlen Elzear was born on September 20, 1907, in Schenectady, New York, USA. Sometime after May 1908 they returned to Canada and their son Herbert Emerson was born in March 1909 in Quebec City, Quebec. At the 1911 Census Joseph was living in the Jacques-Cartier District of Quebec. His daughter Margaret McKeiver was born on January 5, 1912, in Montréal, Quebec.

Canada’s entry into World War I in August 1914 would likely have transformed daily life for Joseph and his family.

Joseph Amedee M. died on September 25, 1957, in Montréal, Quebec, when he was 72 years old. Jennie died less than 3 years later, on January 5, 1960.

Marlen Elzear

Marlen Elzear made his way back to the U.S. and married Ruby Elizabeth Rosina Wade in Detroit, Michigan, USA, on February 5, 1926, when he was 18 years old and she was 21 years old. I'm not sure what brought Ruby to the U.S. as she had immigrated to Canada at age 13 after her mother died in England.

Marlen Elzear was a machinist, and his job may have included running power-driven metal-cutting, boring and grinding machines set up to make many identical metal parts.

His daughter May Gloria Jennie was born on December 7, 1926, in Detroit, Michigan, USA. Between then and 1928 they immigrated back to Canada and their son Marlen Sidney (my grandfather) was born on August 13, 1928, in Montréal, Quebec.

Marlen Elzear must have paid a visit to the U.S. as he's recorded as having returned to Canada from the U.S. in November 1929. He had $500 with him and $175 worth of personal effects. He is noted as having previously been in Montreal, Canada from 1908 to 1925. [3]

Marlen Elzear died tragically in a motorcycle accident on March 29, 1930, in Montréal, Quebec, when he was only 22 years old. He had been married 4 years and his children were 3 and 1 years old.

Ruby never remarried and died on May 26, 1983, in Montréal, Quebec, when she was 78 years old.

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Sources:
1 & 2. Quebec Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967
3. Border Crossings: From U.S. to Canada, 1908-1935