OK, we’re going to try this again. You might have seen my post last week about this–which I subsequently deleted when it became obvious I’d missed a clue.
My great-great-grandfather’s sister Jennie DeKorn Culver (divorced) and her two adult daughters moved from Kalamazoo to Seattle at some point. All three women died there. Only Lela seems to have married–at the age of 63.
Two weeks ago, I posted the photo that gives the exact date the Culvers moved to Seattle. Here it is again with the date of August 20, 1918 written on it. One of the Culver daughters is in this photo.
I also posted a photo of all three Culver women–Aunt Jennie DeKorn Culver and her daughter Rhea and Lela–with some identified travelers or perhaps people seeing them off on their travels.
After much searching I did find one newspaper “jotting” that mentions the move. It was posted in the Kalamazoo Gazette on August 13, 1918.
Of COURSE, the mystery deepens. Why does it mention only Rhea and not her mother or sister? I can’t believe they wouldn’t be mentioned if they did, in fact, move at the same time.Maybe Rhea went with the other people in the photo? If so, when did Jennie and Lela move?
I will say that Jennie does look as if she is dressed for travel (she is the 3rd from the left). Do you agree with me? The other daughter, the one in the striped silk could be dressed for travel–or not.
In 1918, Rhea (born 1890) was 28 years old. She was single and a grown woman. I wonder if she went with any of the Culver family or she went with a religious group. Lela was also single and 30 that year. Jennie was 61. I will be 61 this summer. I can’t imagine making that move with my two daughters if I didn’t know anybody else in Seattle.
Also, this new information sheds light on that photo of the young Culver woman with the older woman (above). Maybe that is Rhea and she IS going with that woman to Seattle.
This is where it gets even more confusing.
In the 1920 census, Rhea, stenographer, is living in Kalamazoo with a cousin and the cousin’s husband, Charles Pierce, and daughter! The cousin is Cora DeSmit Pierce, the daughter of Jennie’s sister Mary. WHAT? So Rhea left for Seattle on her own and came back to Kalamazoo? Homesick?
Cora DeSmit Pierce
But wait.
Also in the 1920 census, Jennie and Lela (teacher) were living in Seattle! So Rhea moved to Seattle, according to the paper. It doesn’t say she joined her family there. It sounds as if she is the first Culver to move to Seattle. But how did the others end up in Seattle and Rhea NOT by 1920?
Can this get any more confusing? I will have to study the photo album more to see if I can find any other clues in there. I would like to examine yearly city directories in both Seattle and Kalamazoo, but even if I could, it still might not divulge what happened.
What do you think? Did Rhea move first and the rest of her family come later? Any ideas on where to research next?
Related articles
- What Did Lela and Rhea Culver Do at the Orphanage? (thefamilykalamazoo.wordpress.com)
- Is This Jenny DeKorn Culver in A Velvet Coat? (thefamilykalamazoo.wordpress.com)
- Why Did Jennie Move to Seattle? (thefamilykalamazoo.wordpress.com)
The Family Kalamazoo 
I can’t recall—but did you find them all living in Seattle on the 1920 census? Are there directories for those years for Seattle and/or for Kalamazoo? Too bad there aren’t train manifests like there are ship manifests…
Oh man, you made me think of something. I am withdrawing this and posting another piece while I work on this more.
Amy, thank you for mentioning the census. Because you said what you did something clicked in my head and I went back and saw that Rhea was back in Kalamazoo–and the others were not. That she lived with her cousin also shows that the family connection was with Jennie’s family, as to be expected, not the Culvers (probably more strained relations because of the divorce).
“In 1918, Rhea (born 1990) was 28 years old.” I think you meant to say born 1880. What a confusing bunch of circumstances. Not sure I would have gotten as far along as you have. Happy Sleuthing!
Oh phooey, dumb typo, which might be what happened to you. Meant to type 1890….
Haha, yes, good catch! Thank you! I fixed it. Hard to keep those 8s and 9s from mixing with each other!
Thanks! Jennie and her daughters is one of the most fun branches to research!
I appreciate your frustration, truly. I hope you get your questions answered… but I do find some solace that others have as equally mysterious family tangents as I do!
Haha, misery loves company!
[…] of the daughters. My confusion began with information I noticed that I wrote about in this post:Who Went Where When?. According to the newspaper, Rhea, the stenographer, moved to Seattle mid-August 1918. Jennie and […]