Important Houses in LeRoy's Life

Reed Home, 12932 Hencher Rd. De Soto, Missouri

 

Several years ago, Dave and I drove to DeSoto, Missouri with a list of addresses of where my ancestor's lived.  I had addresses for both sides of Dad's family for my great grandparents and my great great grandparents.  First, I found the beautiful stone house of my great-great grandparents Reed a little outside of town.  Then we located their home in De Soto as well as the home of my great grandparents Maupin.  Click here for more photos in De Soto. (The Long side of the family were mostly farmers and didn't live in town)

When I went to the address for my grandparents and my dad in 1920, I couldn't find the house anywhere.  It was now the parking lot for the De Soto Public Library. 710 South Main.  Dad wasn't much of a reader, so this is a form of "poetic justice" that his home when he was a year old is the parking lot of a library.

One of the stories my father often talked about was surviving the 1927 tornado in St. Louis while he was in elementary school.  He would tell about walking home from Stix School (9 years old) in the utter destruction.  My aunt said their home was totally destroyed and they never owned another house but only rented. For more, click here.

Several years ago Dave had to go for some cognitive testing through Barnes at 4444 Forest Park Avenue.  There wasn't much of a waiting room, so I walked around the neighborhood. There were several beautiful old homes across Forest Park Avenue from where we were but our side of the street there were none---just new buildings, Barnes hospital and parking lots/garages.  Then, I realized where I was standing---in the path of the 1927 tornado---it was as clear as day when I knew what I was looking at.  There were old homes (dating before 1927) on either side of the path.  I walked several blocks in either direction and my hypothesis was correct.

So, I knew Dad had lived near there.  I called Mom and she said he lived on the corner of Forest Park and Newstead and thought a bus shelter was there.  There was no bus shelter, but another parking lot.

My brother and sister recently asked me some questions about Dad's railroad work experience which sent me to Ancestry.com to find some documents.  As usual, when I started out looking for one thing, I found another--Dad's World War II draft registration in 1940.  He and Mom were married September 1940, so I was surprised to see her name on it---they were newlyweds and living at 3626 Botanical Ave. near the Botanical Gardens.

So, I googled it and was so surprised at what a cute house it was even though they probably lived upstairs.

When I clicked through, that was 3634 Botanical, Mom and Dad's first home was. ... you guessed it, another parking lot. My sister Jane wrote me,"Empty space, filled with living spirit."  She nailed it!

McCarroll-McKibben

Someone (LM) on Ancestry.com contacted me with information on Margaret McCarroll, my g-g-g-g grandmother. We had thought for many years that her maiden name was Carroll, but another cousin(LL) had information it was really McCarroll or McCarrell. Here is what LM wrote me:

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Jaclyn: I began to research my McCarroll ancestry back in the seventies, knowing only that my GGGrandfather John McCarroll came to Louisiana in the early 1800s from Tennessee and in my search I exchange letters with one Margaret McCarroll-McCarrell of McCarrell Lane Rt. 3, Knoxville Tennessee. She wrote the following:

Tyrey Final Resting Places

After taking a detour around a flooded road, we finally found the Maness/Fletcher Cemetery.
It was beautifully maintained with a well-painted fence. Although some of the stones look broken, I think they were the origninal stones which were just rocks.
Although this is hard to read, I loved the colors and textures---it is for a J. E. Maness (but not one we are related to) Click here to see everyone in this cemetery.

This is the stone for Francis Marion Tyrey and his wife Sophia Marrah (not the original French spelling). He was Eliza Ellen Tyrey Reiter's oldest brother----Mary Reiter Long's uncle.
Linda shared this photo of Francis Tyrey and Sophia. He looks so much like my great uncle Clarence Long (the little blond boy sitting on a stool in the middle) and his son Clyde Long.

After lunch, we wanted to find the Poor Farm where Jacob Tyrey (Francis and Eliza's father) spent his final days.
Using my plat map and a current map of Jefferson County, we were able to locate the buildings (Although these building look like abandoned houses, if you click on them to enlarge them, you'll see satellite dishes on them) We don't know why Jacob Tyrey was at the Poor Farm but he was quite old. One of his descendants recalls hearing about "the old man at the Poor Farm". He lived there from 1896-1899. We assume he died there and is in an unmarked grave. Click here for more information on the "Poor Farm."

Cousin Dwight said there is a cemetery nearby, but we didn't visit it. I still think Jacob Tyrey is probably in an unmarked grave nearby although the article on the Poor House says many paupers are buried in Neeley Cemetery in Hillsboro, MO.

Tyrey Country

Linda (married to a distant cousin) and I decided to try to find the old Tyrey homestead---where Jacob Tyrey (my g-g-g grandfather) lived. First, we crossed Tyrey Creek many times which was full after all of the rain we've had this fall.
Linda had a map which certainly helped us find the Tyrey Homestead, but we were disappointed to see it had burned down.It had been a log cabin, I believe. We don't know when the fire was but it was definitely within the past 20 years.
Here are the tags on the front post which shows that whoever owned the property had paid for fire protection up until 1988.
Linda's eagle eyes found a little foot bridge over Tyrey Creek.
Next, we decided to try Tyrey Road. I was pretty impressed that these gravel roads had street signs. Tyrey Road, however, was a little travelled gravel road.
Yeah, that's mud on the windshield. . .we got to someone's yard where there was a gate to keep us from going on up the road, so we turned around and decided to try to find the Maness Cemetery where many of our relatives were buried.
Although our map had directed us to a different Oak Grove Church, we think this was the Oak Grove Church where the Tyrey families belonged.
But, the road to the church and cemetery had water flowing very swiftly across it. We decided that would not be wise to cross this stream.We stopped by the post office to see if there was another way to get to Maness Cemetery. The postmaster just laughed when she found where we had been. She,then, told us how to get around this water hazard.

Longs and Maupins 1930 Census

4117 and 4115 Castleman (my husband is in the van)

My husband and I tried to find some of the places my dad lived in St. Louis a few weeks ago. My Aunt Mary remembers that the Roy Long family lived at Newstead and Forest Park (Click here for a street view of the area). Mother said the house they lived in was now a "bus shelter" so I didn't try to find it. (there is a bus shelter in that street view) Note 2015:  No Bus Shelter---either 4444 Forest Park or the parking lot across Newstead.
After the 1927 tornado that destroyed that house, they lived on 4115 Castleman. On the way there, we passed many sites that I'm sure my sister and cousins will recognize.

Missouri-Pacific Hospital where I had my tonsils taken out.

I believe this was a mortuary at one time---across the street from Mo-Pac Hospital

Compton Hill Reservoir Park---across from Mo-Pac Hospital

The most curious part of the 1930 census is not that Roy Long's family lived next door to the Maupins (4117 Castleman), but it's how the Maupins are described. The names Henry and Anna Maupin are correct, but their ages, country of origin are very wrong. Also, the census taker got the occupations wrong with the names---he has Henry Maupin as a shoes salesman, but he was a machinist at the railroad which in fact is what the census says my Aunt Maxine was. . .at 7 years old! He obviously had a problem writing across the page. Above is 4115 Castleman where Roy and Vivian Maupin Long lived with LeRoy, Norma, Maxine and Mary Long.

Part of the mystery is solved when I realized that Henry and Annie Reed Maupin were also counted in their house on Boyd in De Soto. I've known most of my life that Henry Maupin had homes in St. Louis and De Soto. They probably weren't in the Castleman house when the census-taker came by. The house on Castleman appears to have been rented, but the census taker asked someone else who lived in that house for information on them and it was just wrong.

4117 Castleman where Annie Reed and Henry Maupin lived in 1930.

Aunt Mary said after that house, the family moved back to De Soto and then lived at 1607 Theresa in the Grand Park Apartments near Wyman School, 3917 Shenandoah (Street view) and finally 3867 Flad after Ronnie was born (they needed extra rooms). I've already done two blogs about Flad. Click here for how it looks today. Click here for photos of it in 1940's.

They also had Albert Maupin, Walter Maupin (Vivian's brothers) and Vivian's nephews Junior McKay (Mattie Maupin's son)and Charles Maupin (Harry Maupin's son) living with them from time to time. Mary said there were daybeds in the dining room for extra sleeping (I can remember Charles Maupin sleeping on a daybed at my Grandparents' Wicker's flat in the dining room so it must have been fairly common) and she (Mary) slept in a baby crib in her parents' bedroom until Ronnie came along.

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.

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).