“Miss Rosella Graham, daughter of A. D. Graham of El Verano, was run down by a team of horses Tuesday while riding a bicycle.  She is still suffering for the effects of the injuries, which will not prove fatal.”[1]

Thank goodness those injuries did not prove fatal.  Rosella, was my great aunt, and I have fond childhood memories of all 4’11” of this little old lady.  She joined the Bradley family when she married my grandmother’s brother, Hilary Bradley, in 1913. Rose died in 1985, somewhere in her mid- to late-90s.  It’s not clear exactly how old she was, because when she married Hilary, she was at least a few years older than he.  She didn’t want anyone to know, so she burned, buried or otherwise destroyed any evidence, lying about her age…  until she hit 90, when it because something of a status symbol to have lived so long.  By then she wanted to take full advantage of the respect accorded to such a venerable character and she raised her age by 2 (or 3) years between the birthday celebrations. 

I’m visiting California for “The Bradley Picnic,” a reunion of the Bradley family.  I came a few days early and my dear sister, Diane, who knows how passionate I am about my genealogy, offered to drop me off at the Santa Rosa library while she ran some errands. Talk about hog heaven!  And scrolling through newspapers, I found the above article about the bicycle and the horses. 

At our picnic yesterday, I mentioned it to Rose’s granddaughter and her husband, Mary and Len.  Mary recalled the story, remembering seeing evidence of the injury years later, a “hole” in Rose’s thigh that never quite healed.  The story as Mary recalled was that Rose was hit by a car, not a team of horses.  Rose never placed any blame on the driver, saying it was her own fault for riding into the road right in front of the vehicle.  But the cool part of the story was the identity of the driver.  Not mentioned in the newspaper, but according to Rose (well Mary’s recollection of what Rose told her), it was none other than Jack London.  Rose reported that Jack London had the first automobile in Sonoma.

After the party ended, I spent a little time trying to research this.  Could it have been Jack London?  He certainly was in town that week, and he loved his horses.  The Press Democrat from 9 June 1905, reported that London had recently ridden from Sonoma to Santa Rosa to see his good friend, Luther Burbank.  “Frequently during the last two or three months, Mr. London and Miss Kittredge have enjoyed horseback rides all over the Sonoma Valley and to Santa Rosa, Altruria and other places.  Both are passionately fond of horseback riding.”[2]  A few years later he spoke about his Sonoma farm to a reporter for the Sacramento Union, “’I’ve the finest lot of horses over there you’d see anywhere… just see’ – he rolled up the sleeve of his right arm and proudly exhibited a rigid muscle – ‘got that from driving a four-horse team.  I’ve sailed a bit in my time and done other hard work, but I never developed that muscle until I took to driving.  It’s great.’”[3] 

I searched the newspapers to see if I could confirm a story about London owning an automobile but I found nothing.  A man of his means could very well have had the first auto in the town.  Maybe London was driving an auto and spooked a horse-drawn wagon causing the collision with Rosella.  But it’s also clear London enjoyed driving a team of horses.  So maybe Rose did collide with Jack.  And knowing me, this is probably not the end of my research into this story.  I’ll keep you posted.
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I’m sure glad I found that article about Rose and the bicycle just in time for the Bradley picnic and the opportunity to hear a bit more about it from her granddaughter.   Do you have a family story about a celebrity?  Have you proved it or disproved it?  Feel free to post a comment below and tell me your story.


[1] Petaluma Morning Courier, 3 June 1905, page 4, col. 3

[2] Press Democrat, 9 June 1905, page 7, col. 2

[3] “Jack London Fulfills His Youthful Vows With Sutter Fort Pilgrimage,” Sacramento Union, 9 December 1912, page 1 col 5  and page 3 col. 5

I’ve been working on a timeline of a potential relative, Anthony Graham.  He’s not a direct ancestor, and he may or may not be a relative, but I’m hopeful that tracing him will help me learn more about my great-great grandmother, Jane Graham Ahern. (Long story about why I think he might be related.  I’ll save that for another blog post.) 

I’ve been trying for years to come up with a specific birthplace for Anthony.  I have some census records that have a mix of “Ireland” and “Scotland” as a birthplace.  I can find him on the 1850,[1] 1860[2] and 1880[3] US Federal census and all of them show he hails from Ireland, but on the 1880, 1900 and 1910 censuses, most of his children report that their father was born in Scotland.[4]  And one daughter, Jennie, can’t seem to make up her mind – in 1880 her father is born in Scotland and her mother is born in Ireland,[5] while in 1900 Da’s from Ireland and Ma’s the Scot.[6]  Anthony’s death notice in the San Francisco paper indicates he was a native of Scotland,[7] but obviously he didn’t write that, and due to the 1906 earthquake and fire, no death certificate exists to provide additional information.
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And then I found it!  Another obituary, from the Los Angeles Herald.  “Death of a Pioneer… Mr. Graham was a native of Glasgow, Scotland.” [8] A city!  There were more details.  He “… landed in New York when quite young.  He afterward became engaged in the construction of the railroad across the Isthmus of Panama, and finally came to California in 1850.” 

Now it was time for me to enter these items on his timeline.  And that’s when the whole thing fell apart. 

Anthony’s timeline shows four children born in New York - Francis in 1846,[9] Ann Eliza on 23 November 1847,[10] Jennie on 18 February 1850[11] and Anthony Daniel in 1853.[12]  The sentence construction in the obituary infers he was engaged in the construction of the Panama Railroad prior to his arrival in California in 1850.  If that is true, it is unlikely that he could have fathered Jennie in 1850 and Anthony Daniel three years later if they were born in New York. 
 
When I looked at the timeline of the Panama Railroad, even more inconsistencies arose.  Construction of the railroad did not effectively begin until May 1850 and the railroad was not completed until 27 January 1855.[13]  It would have been difficult for Anthony to become engaged in the construction of this railroad if he were in California by 1850.

Integrating the Los Angeles Herald obituary details into the existing timeline I had for Anthony points out some problems with the information provided.  Since the dates seem “off” I have to question the other details in the obituary.  I don’t know who provided the details to the Herald, but it was likely his son Frank who is mentioned in the article.  Based on his census records, Frank seems clear that his father was born in Scotland, but if Frank is wrong on the dates of Anthony’s movements, could he be wrong on the birth place as well?

Try using a timeline in your own research.  It might help you to see some inconsistencies in your data for your own ancestors as well.   How have timelines helped you?  Please leave a comment below.
 


[1] 1850 U.S. census, Orange County, New York, population schedule, Newburgh, p. 106 (stamped), dwelling 1402, family 1584, Anthony Graham; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 September 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 573, page 106A, image 218.

[2] 1860 U.S. census, San Francisco County, California, population schedule, San Francisco, p. 218 (penned), dwelling 1851, family 1876, Anthony Graham; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 September 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 67, page 383, image 383.

[3] 1880 U.S. census, Tulare County, California, population schedule, Visalia, p. 21 (penned), dwelling 226, family 230, Anthony Graham; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 September 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 85, page 48A, ED 098, image 482.

[4] 1880 U.S. census, Los Angeles County, California, population schedule, Los Angeles, p. 10 (penned), dwelling 92, family 95, Frank Graham; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 September 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 67, page 224B, ED 025, image 151

[5] 1880 U.S. census, Merced County, California, population schedule, Merced, p. 11 (penned), dwelling 110, family 113, Edward Tobin; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 September 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 68, page 345C, ED 043, image 711.

[6] 1900 U.S. census, San Francisco County, California, population schedule, San Francisco, p. 5 (penned), dwelling 72, family 79, John O’Gara; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 September 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 105, page 5A, ED 0204.

[7] “Died (Graham),” (San Francisco.) Daily Alta California, 4 August 1888, p. 7, col. 6.

[8] “Death of a Pioneer,” Los Angeles (California) Herald, 4 August 1888, p. 2, col. 3.

[9] 1850 U.S. census, Orange Co., New York, pop. sch., p. 106, dwell. 1482, fam. 1584, Anthony Graham; 1860 U.S. census, San Francisco Co., California, pop. sch., p. 218, dwell. 1851, fam. 1876, Anthony Graham

[10] Baptismal record for Ann Eliza Graham, St Patrick’s Catholic Church, Newburgh, Orange, New York

[11] Baptismal record for Jane Graham, St Patrick’s Catholic Church, Newburgh, Orange, New York

[12] 1850 U.S. census, Orange Co., New York, pop. sch., p. 106, dwell. 1482, fam. 1584, Anthony Graham; 1860 U.S. census, San Francisco Co., California, pop. sch., p. 218, dwell. 1851, fam. 1876, Anthony Graham

[13] “Panama Canal Railway,” Wikipedia.org (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal_Railway : accessed 28 September 2016).