Avoca Day One

The Glanvilles were miners from Cornwall who came to Missouri for the mines. The 1860 census had 32 pages with 40 people on each page. My Glanville ancestors were on page 3 and William Reed was on page 29. Avoca was supposed to be near Valle Mines.

(William wasn't really from Ireland, but this was his new identity---he changed his name, age, and country of origin)

So, we went searching for Avoca---my GPS system and handy map of Missouri were no help. I stopped by the Post Office in Valles Mines and the woman had no idea. I had googled Avoca, Missouri and found an article by David Halleman on the Terry Cemetery in Avoca---he left the GPS co-ordinates so that's how we found it.
On the way up there, we did spot this sign:
I had Dave pull off the road while I went up the hill.
I found a beautiful little forgotten cemetery.
I did take photos of some of the stones
But, didn't see any that were of my family. My dad always said we were related to Armbrusters, so I took a photo of this stone.

Valles Mines

When William Reed first came to the United States, he worked in the Valle Mines area (Valles Mines) which is where the Glanvilles (his future in-laws) also lived and mined. At one time it was a bustling village, but there's not much there anymore but a post office, a gas station and several churches. There was a little bit of history still there like the General Store building.
A re-sale it shop
And a sign that explains where the name comes from:

After I got home, I googled the name and found out Dave and I have another "road trip" in our future. We missed a lot of Valles Mines. Click here for more information. But, I am a little concerned that the "Lost History Museum" has a "For lease" sign by it.

Oh well, we also were in search of the village of Avoca which had at least 1000 people in it at one time. But, that's another blog.

Houses (and lots) in De Soto

While we were in De Soto last week, we tried to find a few more houses where our family lived. First, I wanted to find where my dad lived in 1920---that house is gone, but would have been where the parking lot of the De Soto Public Library is.!
Then, I wanted to find where William and Francis Glanville Reed lived in 1880--221 Lewis St. First, it should have been "Louis" St. Second, the street people put "St." in front of it, so, now it is "St. Louis" St.Again, it was a lot. The lot was between the grey house below
And the yellow house below---I assume the house looked something like one of them.So, I wasn't doing too well. Next I wanted to find Allen Place where William Reed (Annie's brother)lived in 1900 and 1910, but I didn't have an address and couldn't find the street. The De Soto librarian, Betty Olsen helped me out with "Lewis" St and "Allen Place."

Allen Place is a very small, steep, street parallel to Boyd. Actually, I could see Annie Reed Maupin's house through the brush.
By 1920, William Reed (Annie's brother) lived at 412 South Fourth St. At last a house!
My Aunt Mary remembers meeting William Reed and thinking that he looked like her Uncle Albert. That clue may have helped us identify another sibling in the 1920 photo.

Albert Maupin

I think William is the one seated in the front on the right. But, I'm open to suggestions from others as to which one looks like Uncle Albert. I've always thought that person looked like the oldest son.

The William Reed House

After getting that photo of William Reed's house, I was on a mission. The realtor's listing gave instructions how to get there and that it was on Hencher Rd. I googled it and found a newer realtor's listing---it had recently sold. Now, I had an address that I could put in the trusty GPS system: 12932 Hencher Rd.

For a bird's eye view, click here and scroll down---it's on the corner with a lot of trees. It's kind of neat to see the other houses and the fields around it.

The family that's living there have only lived there for a year. The listing is still available with the amenities. (Click here) I talked to the owner who offered a tour---I declined, got his phone number and said I might be back later with cousins. He said he feels like he's living at a resort. I believe the previous owners more than doubled the size of the house with an addition that looks a lot like additions I've seen added in the early 1900's. It probably includes the master suite with whirlpool bath and a new kitchen with a stone floor.

I asked Steve (the owner) if he knew anything about the house. He said he thought it was built around 1844 and the builder had a lot of kids. If William Reed built the house, the date isn't right, but he was right about a lot of kids---9 kids is a lot.

Sadly Frances Glanville Reed had to go from this beautiful home to a boarding house in St. Louis in her later years. Such was the life of a widow at the turn of the century.

This is also the house where Annie Reed was married. See the blog on her early years. Click here.

Ellice Morgan Letter July 31, 1945

Paul, Lowell, H. B. and Garner Morgan 1934

This letter discusses Lowell and Garner who apparently couldn't eat any sweets per the doctor's orders. I don't know if this was a weight issue---as slim as they were as adults, they do look a little on the robust side below. She also discusses what is being canned---she said Davis and Harry "helped" her last year---and the possibility that Garner will join the Navy.

H.B. Morgan Letter July 31, 1945

I assume this is Dave giving a cat a bath---poor kitty. H.B. Morgan's letters discuss the rock crushing, block making, his work, the crops and his relief that Harry is feeling better.


The photo below is from Leah. It is clearly H.B. Morgan, but I'm not sure who the child is and assume it is at the farm. Maybe Dave or Harry can tell me something about the car, too.

H.B. and Ellice Morgan Letters: July 23, 26, 1945

July 19, 1945 (Louisiana) Front step left: Grover Davis Morgan, Jr. Back step right: Harry Byron Morgan II. Others: Susan Sherman, Jackie Johnson, Judy Bates, Nona Gale McFarlin.

H. B. writes about the weather, garden, travelling to Cleveland and the concrete block machine. Dave thinks he was writing in Prenter where he worked at the Red Parrot Coal Mine. So, the end "Everyone seems O.K. here and Pcton" means everyone in Prenter, W.Va.(Mason's family) and "Pcton" the Morgan family (Ellice and "the boys") in Princeton, W. Va.

Remember, if you want to enlarge any of these photos, double click on them. Then use the back arrow to come back to this page.
Ellice writes a brief note---they seem very concerned about Harry. It's hard for us to understand that they are of the generation that a sick child often died. In an earlier letter, she'd been very concerned that the G.D.Morgan family was living so far away from the rest of the family and the support network it formed. I think this letter reflects a lot of anxiety: family apart, war times, sick grandchild.
Also, in a previous letter she had mentioned that it was hard for her to write because her hand hurt. I think the handwriting and brevity of this note reflects that. The last line reads, "Stamps are inside [Mother] all I had" We aren't sure if the stamps are food stamps or postage stamps. Dave thinks food stamps.

Ellice Smith Morgan Letter July 22, 1945

Dave in Louisiana July 24,1945

Ellice writes to Grover, Eloise, Harry and Dave about her garden and what all she's planning on canning. To read the page, double click on the photo. Use the back arrow to come back.
The second page talks about Aunt Vic, what H. B. will do if he takes a vacation, how much she misses seeing Eloise and the boys each Sunday and a visit by Mason, Carol and Noel.

This last page refers to a previous letter. Click here. She indicates that H.B. wasn't too happy about what she said in that letter. She also talks about Paul and hoping he will be home soon.

Francis Glanville Reed in St. Louis

After William Reed's death in 1891, Frances Glanville Reed must have had a hard time with so many young children. I was pretty surprised to find her in St. Louis in the 1900 census. She might have had relatives here. My mother recalled that Vivian Maupin Long (Frances's granddaughter) always liked coming to church with us at Lafayette Park Methodist Church because she ran into cousins. My Aunt Mary remembers visiting "cousins" with her grandmother Annie Reed Maupin. I haven't, yet, figured out who that would have been, but when Francis came to St. Louis she lived on Hickory Ave. which I knew was one of the streets in the Lafayette Park neighborhood. Naturally, I assumed she had lived in that neighborhood, but a "road trip" with a GPS system revealed a different location.

First, I was surprised to be so close to the Anheuser-Busch Brewery and Ralston Purina plant---further east from the Lafayette Park neighborhood, but very close to where a lot of industry was at the turn of the century. Also, nearby is a tavern that's been around since 1818--Old Rock House. Then, when I passed St. Raymond's church (above), I was pretty sure I'd never been in this area. When we turned on 9th Street, I was beginning to feel a little uneasy. Ahead was all "new" housing just as the GPS said, "Arriving at destination." 927 Hickory was that building to the right, so I'm thinking Francis lived in a house in front of the dumpster: 929 Hickory.

The census takers weren't always that good about writing the street addresses down. Frances could have lived at 928 or 930, but nothing was there either. Across the street was a little "pocket park" which is where those buildings would have been.

This area is called the LaSalle Park neighborhood which used to be part of the Soulard neighborhood---a very trendy place named for the Soulard Market---a farmer's market since 1779.
Down the street were a couple of restored row houses which I assume is the way the whole street looked at one time. The one on the right is a Bed and Breakfast. I talked to a woman who was staying there. She said it is ultra-modern on the inside. So, if any of you were planning on taking a trip up memory lane and staying on g-g grandmother's street, be warned--it does say "modern abode". Click here to see inside. It was however named best B and B in St. Louis for 2006.
Back to the census (double click to enlarge, but use the back arrow to come back):
She had 4 children still living with her: Mary (Mayme) Reed who was 22 and worked as a dressmaker; Charles Reed, 19, worked as a "polisher" at the foundry; Walter Reed, 17, was a laborer at the foundry; James Reed, 14, was "at school." Also note that there were boarders. One, Gustav Outman, was probably Frances's nephew (Augustus)----the son of her sister Elizabeth Glanvile Outman who with her husband died in 1877 leaving 4 young orphan children. In the 1910 census, two were living with William Glanville, the oldest brother, in St. Francois County, MO.

I confess that I was a little sad that Frances's house wasn't there, especially since I had imagined it beautifully restored in the Lafayette Park neighborhood. I hope I have better luck finding the stone house that William built in the De Soto area (see below for an old photo).