Jack, Jane and Tom

Jack looks so handsome, Jane so beautiful, and Tom ....

Something I never knew before:  my parents named me after Jack's best friend, Tom Nelson.

Little Old Ladies from Pasadena

My grandfather Harold Leddy had four sisters: Iona, Alma, May and Helen.  I remember Auntie May and Helen as little old ladies who lived in Pasadena.  Jack informs me that May was considered the smart one of the family, although she may have never finished high school.  He says she worked in Washington and was Secretary to the Secretary of the U.S.  He says she met all the Presidents of the U.S. I have not been able to confirm any of this.  I remember their house as a one story California bungalow... very dark.  Auntie Alma was a nun.  I remember little about her except that she was very nice.  Both she and my Aunt Marie ended up at the Sister of the Holy Names Convent in Los Gatos. Jack says that she taught mathematics. I believe her order was Sisters of Mercy.  Jack also informs me that his grandfather Leddy had worked as a newspaper boy in Philadelphia a carpenter and eventually as a clothes store entrepreneur.  He made enough money to retire at a young age.  He packed the entire family onto a train and came to California.  They got off, Jack says, in Pasadena, as that was the first stop.  He bought a plot of land there and built a house and a barn, although the area quickly became up-scale and not appropriate for barns.  Jack says that his grandfather was a devout Catholic and built a church for the black Catholics of South Pasadena. Holy Family Church appears to be the Catholic Church in South Pasadena.  They had a "bungalow" church as early as 1910.  They started building their current church in 1923. I've got to find some pictures of May and Helen, and more about them.  I don't think they every drove hot-rods.

Jane's Grandparents,William Murray Winter and Margaret Wright Winter

My relative Malcolm Winter (Jane's cousin) has done a lot of genealogical work including this material on my mother's grandparents.

WILLIAM MURRAY WINTER* (JOHN4, THOMAS3 WINTER, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born Sep 29, 1854 in Bovina, NY, and died Mar 25, 1945 in Truro, Iowa. He married MARGARET ANN WRIGHT* Apr 29, 1886 in Grant Center, Lyon County, Iowa, daughter of JAMES WRIGHT and MARGARET MCCLELLAND*.


Notes for WILLIAM MURRAY WINTER*:

Bought Lyon County Iowa farm 1/3/1894 from Amber & Esdert Arrnds for $4,880 SW4 sec17 twp100 rng43 160acres + $2,000 mortgage due 6/1/97 7%

Sold farm 6/2/1902 to Eno Reiter for $7,680 + $2,000 mortgage c int from

12/1/1901 & 2nd mortgage $1962.3 c interest from 6/17/1901

Bought Clarke County Iowa farm 2/26/1903 from Sam J. & Flora B. Ray for

$7,200 NW4 sec9 twp73 rng26 160acres

Farm sold by Margaret Winter to Gertrude E. Maxwell 9/14/1978

NW4 & E2,NW4ofSW4 sec9 twp73 Nrng26

I remember my grandfather as an old man sitting in a rocking chair reading. He was tall with white hair and an easy grin. He died of a stroke when he was 90. I imagine he had had hypertension for many years, but in those days it was a problem for which there was little treatment.



More About WILLIAM MURRAY WINTER*:

May 10, 1902, sold Little Rock to German neighbor $50/ac

ABT 1912, fell, hurt back

Occupation: farmer

Ethnicity/Relig.: Methodist

Comment 3: LittleRock frm now owned Walter Brewer

Notes for MARGARET ANN WRIGHT*:


My paternal grandmother was born in 1855 in New Delhi, New York, became a teacher and I believed moved to Iowa when she married my grandfather. She was a short small lady with lots of energy and a keen sense of humor. Among her many talents were that of being a painter. We have a number of her pictures in our home. I have many happy memories of her down on the farm near Truro, Iowa. She would tell me stories and get me involved in various fun projects. She was 4 years older than my grandfather, but in my mind acted younger than he did. Like him though she was hypertensive and died of a stroke when she was 90, 4 years before he did.



More About MARGARET ANN WRIGHT*:

1855, started school with Libby as teacher

1859, Father Wright stricken c pain in 4 d died

1867, teacher

1884, Sibley Ia

 

Margaret Wright Winter and Willaim Murray Winter

Jack meets J. Robert Oppenheimer

J. Robert Oppenheimer ca. 1944 when he was director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory

Jack says he met Oppenheimer when he was a physics student at UC Berkeley and Oppenheimer was a professor there.  Oppenheimer was at Berkeley from 1929 to 1942.  He would have been 37 when he left Berkeley to direct the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Although Oppenheimer was not a radio ham, Jack says that the ham radio operators were interested in the Cyclotron which used the same frequencies as were used in radio. Wikipedia says that the first cyclotron was manufactured by Ernest Lawrence of Berkeley in 1932. 

Masquerade Ball for my Great Grandfather Eddie

I discovered more information about my great grandfather, Rev. James B. Eddie.  In the Carson City News in Sept. 28, 1896 he invited those "who wish to take up some literary work during the coming winter" to meet at the rectory at eight o'clock.  Twelve people signed up to the Leisure Hour club which met between 1896 and 1900 at St. Peters under Rev. Eddie.  In 1900 the article indicates he resigned to become Dean of the Cathedral, Salt Lake City, Utah.  Nevada State Museum Newsletter, May/June 2000  The article also includes of photo of a Masquerade Ball honoring Eddie and his wife.  The literary club still existed in 2000.

James B. Eddie, Jack's mother's father, rector of St. Peters, Carson City

Picture of St. Peters probably taken by one of the Eddies c. 1900

Early Picture of St. Peters Church

I found this material about my great grandfather who was rector at the St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Carson City Nevada.  It is in a document called Rectory "In 1900 it was reported in the St. Peter’s news sheet, The Parish Rubric, that “The rectory is in perfect condition now, thanks to the good women of the Guild. Aside from new carpets, upholstering and fresh paper, electric lights have been put in.” The first rector to occupy the refurbished house may have been the Reverend J. Fred Holmes, who served the parish from 1890 to 1892. Holmes was followed by J. W. Hyslop (1892-96) and James B. Eddie (beginning in 1896)."  The electronic version of the first photo thanks to my cousin Claire Leddy.

Uncle John Converts to Catholicism

Altadena Country Club Altadena Country Club, called the Pasadena Golf Club (1920 - 1932)

I ran across this item I wrote probably in the 1970s.  “Margaret Leddy (my grandmother [Margaret Eddie]) remembers Uncle John and her father seated in the living room debating scripture. At that time her farther had become interested in Christian Science. Uncle John had converted to Catholicism after having introduced Catholic novelties into his Presbyterian Church. Margaret says that Uncle John converted 27 people to Catholicism on the boat over from Scotland. When he arrived in Altadena where the Eddies were then living he also converted Margaret and her sisters. The children had already been attending a Catholic Church services as they were much disillusioned with the Episcopal church. Margaret says that her father resigned from the Church because of jealousies on the part of the Bishop. However many of the parishioners supported them and when they moved to Altadena they were largely supported by contributions from the former perish. Mr. Edie became a real estate man at one point, and was fairly successful in this capacity.” Tom Leddy