Eugene Charles Steele

Eugene Charles Steele & His In Laws

The Greenwade Family
PART 1

You may well wonder why I have started this particular posting off with an image of the Kentucky flag.

Well dear relatives, we just happen to have a small tie in with this blue grass state!

If I had to choose what my very favorite ancestor name was (among the many!) it would be this one:

Myrtle May Greenwade

It was such a pretty name which once belonged to a lady from Camargo Kentucky. Myrtle May would soon became part of the Steele Family through her marriage to Eugene Charles Steele.

Eugene Charles was the first born son to Eugene and Mary Ann Steele. He was 16 years old when he lost his mother Mary Ann in 1893.

Unable to find a census moving from 1893 to five years later, I can only assume that Eugene continued his education and/or assisted in taking care of the younger siblings.

But in 1898, Eugene landed his first job as a bottler for one of the three main bottle companies that existed in San Francisco.

For those not familiar with the term ~ A bottler is someone who mixes drink ingredients and fills up cans and bottles with the drink. The bottler then distributes the final product to the wholesale sellers in a geographic area.

Below are two pictures of the work a bottler would be doing. These are not ofEugene Charles Steele.

Coca-Cola Delivery Trucks Through the Years (2).jpg

Born on Dec 1st 1860, Myrtle was the only daughter of Henry Robert Clinton and Cleopatria (Shouse) Greenwade.

The following year of 1899 would bring two new changes to Eugene’s life. First, Eugene was promoted to what they then called a “Chauffeur” position meaning the delivery truck/wagon driver for the company as shown in the above right photo.But more importantly Eugene would meet his future wife~ a beautiful young woman who hailed from Camargo Montgomery County, Kentucky named- Myrtle May Greenwade.

To give you some idea of what Myrtle would have sounded like, here is a YouTube Clip of two young girls (From South Carolina & Kentucky) having a conversation on how certain words/phrases are pronounced.

~ The Greenwade Family History ~

Before continuing more about Eugene and Myrtle May, I'd like to share with you some of the Greenwade family history which I found to be quite fascinating!

You may well ask why I am including more than just our direct ties to the family?! Well, not only were the stories of the Greeenwade family fascinating, but I found out there were relations who participated in both the revolutionary and civil wars! Feel Free to scroll down to the end if you must, but I think you will enjoy reading it~

The generation of Greenwades born in England is where we shall start. Thomas Greenwade (born in 1756) came from an area called, Dalton in Furness, Lancashire, England

Of the five children, it is with their third child and second born son, Samuel Jackson where our Greenwade linage continues. Samuel's father Thomas would be Myrtle's great great great Grandfather and Samuel her great great Grandfather.

Below is the only known existing photo of Samuel Jackson. I have included both the original and the revised enhanced version.

During the early 1800's, Samuel left Maryland and made his way to Kentucky, settling in the town of Bourbon~ the very birth place of Kentucky Whiskey/Bourbon!

In 1812, Samuel would meet his future wife Emma "Annie" Leanna Thomas. Below is the only known picture of her.

According to one ancestral family tree of Moses E Thomas, this Revolutionary War Soldier's history was as follows:

On July 16, 1863 Moses was in the Confederate 1st KY Cavalry., Co. B. An arrest warrant submitted by Patrick Henry on March 20 1780 lead to Moses eventual capture at Mount Sterling, Montgomery Co., KY. Below is a copy of the actual warrant!

Moses appeared on the rolls of Camp Morton, Indianapolis, IN, Aug 10, 1863. On Aug 18, 1863, he was sent from Camp Morton to Camp Douglas, Chicago, Cook Co. Illinois. He arrived at Camp Douglas on Aug 22, 1863, but died two months later in October.

Samuel Jackson and his wife Annie had a total of 12 children! There were also others who worked on his farm and in his home. An 1850 U.S. Federal Census titled - Slave Schedules indicates 15 enslaved people. This was 11 years before the Civil War began and 13 years before the The Emancipation Proclamation by President Lincoln went into effect.

Three of these names are ones you don't often hear such as~Evaline, Drucilla and Algin!

In fact, while researching this third generation of the Greenwade family, I was able to locate some rare pictures and learn that there were members who were soldiers in the Civil War! Here then is the history of the Greenwade family-second generation.

The first child of Samuel Jackson and Anna Greenwade was a daughter they named Julia Ann. Born in 1813, Julia died very young, between 1 and 4 years old. There is no exact date of death and she apparently shares a grave with her brother Algin, the last born child who died at age 2. Both are buried in the Greenwade Family Cemetery located in Jeffersonville, Kentucky.

Thomas Greenwade was the first son born on October 11 ,1814 in Montgomery, Kentucky. On August 23, 1832 he married Sarah Ann Kring.

Born on July 24, 1815, Sarah was one of eight children in the family of John Karl and Ann Elizabeth (Suter) Kring. John (born 1775) was a farmer from Lancaster PA and Ann (born 1785) came from Kentucky.

Sarah and Thomas raised a huge family of 15 children! Their first born was a daughter named Julia Ann- (most likely named in honor of Thomas's older sister who died so tragically young). Julia Ann and her brother James Samuel were the only siblings whose photos I was able to find.

CHILDREN OF SAMUEL JACKSON & ANNIE GREENWADE

Julia Ann Greenwade

Thomas Greenwade

Sarah Ann Kring

Emma, later known as Anna/Annie, was born in Loudoun County, Virginia in/about 1791. She was one of 15 children in the family of Moses E. Thomas (a Revolutionary War Soldier) born 1749 in Prince William Virginia and Elizabeth Remey Whaley (born December 12, 1755 in Bourbon County Kentucky)

James Samuel Greenwade & Wife Mary Clark Trimble

Three Photos Of Julia Ann Greenwade.

Julia Ann was married twice. Her first husband was Wilson Gardner but for whatever reason the marriage did not last long and they had no children. Two years after the marriage ended, Julia Ann married a John Henry Myers. Below is the last photo taken of him before his death in 1891.

John and Julia had a total of thirteen children! As you will see below there are a some rather unusual names such as Cluke, Nannie, and Mordecai along with the name of Robinson Caruso given to the 12th child.

I looked up the name Mordecai and found that it was a baby boy's name of Hebrew origin, meaning “follower of Marduk”. In Hebrew cultures, Marduk was the Babylonian god who ruled over their kingdom with compassion. Similar to other mighty deities, it is known that Marduk stood for justice, fairness, and order. Of the 13 children, it was Robinson who outlived his siblings, passing away on October 29, 1960 at the age of 88. Below are two photos of he taken in his early days and just before his passing.

Julia Ann lived to age 84, passing away on May 11 1918. Ironically, her husband John had passed away on the same date of May 11 but 27 years earlier in 1891. He was 66.

The third child and second born son of Samuel and Emma was John Jackson (Jack) born in 1820. On February 26, 1840 he married Mary Ann Palmer.

Born on Christmas Day 1825, Mary Ann was one of five children in the family of Moses and Mary Polly (Eastman) Palmer. The Palmer's came from Halifax County, Virginia. Moses Palmer served in the War of 1812 as a Revolutionary soldier fighting the British.

Moses was first married to Frances "Frankie" Vaughan (born abt 1778). They had one child a son, named William Howard (born 1801). Two years later in 1803, Frances passed away. That same year, Moses would find love again with Mary Polly Eastman. In addition to Mary Ann would be three more sons, Robert, Jeffrey and James.

In or around 1856, John Jackson relocated his family to Robertson, Hill, Texas. A census taken during that time describes John's appointment as a US Post Master.

As described by the National Archives: Postmasters were appointed by the Postmaster General of the United States. They were in charge of receiving, sorting, and then sending mail where it was supposed to go. If a person wanted to mail a letter, they would bring the letter to the post office. The postmaster would make sure it was sent to the correct place. Postmasters served as little as a few months or more than thirty years. Sometimes, control of the post office was a family affair, with multiple generations of a family serving as postmaster of the same post office.

Below are two photos of what a post office looked like in the 1800's

John and Mary Ann raised a family of seven children. Of the seven children, I was able to locate photos of the first bon son Palmer Moses and his wife Margaret Fredonia Shelton.