_John(Johann) William MEYER _+
| (1864 - 1933) m 1894
_Harry MEYER __________|
| (1903 - 1980) m 1924 |
| |_Josephine Emile LOCHER _____+
| (1868 - 1947) m 1894
|
|--Marion Loretta MEYER
| (1926 - 1993)
| _William MCMULLEN ___________+
| | (1882 - 1938) m 1904
|_Elsie Marie MCMULLEN _|
(1906 - 1982) m 1924 |
|_Laura Mae HAMILTON _________+
(1886 - 1918) m 1904
[2]
OCCU: Mother/ US Postal Clerk
RELI: Catholic
COMM: Mom Kelley, as she was called by her coworkers at the US Post Office(10
kids)
Last address was 2400 North Broom street near Concord ave in Wilmington, DE
19802
1930 Census had Marion L. Kelley living at 6010 Keystone Street Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania USA
1940 Census(April 15th, 1940, S.D., #9, ED# 9-6, Sheet# 9-B) had Marion living
on (No street # - Chestnut Ave. Treveose Village, Bensalem Township, Bucks
County, Pennsylvania USA
Possible address on 1 Apr 1940 • 179 Chestnut St, Bensalem, Bucks, Pennsylvania, United States
PHONE: Heaven- 1-800-Angel
Marion Meyer Kelley's Life
Marion Meyer Kelley's Life Story:
Written By Marion Kelley herself.
I was born in Richmond, Philadelphia,PA. Why I mention this is because I was the
only one of four children that was, The rest of the children were born at home.
My first memory was about the age of 3 1/2 yrs old. We had a first floor
apartment on Gaul st. in the Richmond section of Philadelphia. My sister Doris,
cousin Gertrude and I all had chicken pox. I was very ill. I can remember being
in a crib and my mother had made us mittens so we would not scratch ourselves.
Remembering this when my eight children came down with the chicken pox, I did
the same thing. I also remember the man who came around with dresses,etc., to
sell and wonderful smell and the crisp sound they made (later I realized it was
the paper inside the dresses that made the sound). December rolled around and
December 13th, my Birthday. There was a small store about a block and a half
away. Well, that time of the year it gets dark around 5 o'clock. Doris and
Gertrude took me to the store to buy me a present. They left me outside by
myself (4 years old) next to a dark alley. When they came out I was soooo
Frightened but forgot all the fear when I saw the lovely red Pocketbook they
bought me. Then Christmas came and I had asked for a Red Fire Engine that you
could ride in (Tomboy that I was). Well.... I did get a fire Engine but it was a
small one with a seat on top and that you pushed around (I remember being so
disappointed). Doris and I received these huge Dolls, My Doll was two heads
taller than me. Gertrude received two such Dolls from her mother and father (who
were separated). Gertrude lived with us because her mother worked and lived at a
country club that was way out in the country. This was during the Depression. My
Father earned 17 dollars a week, my mother was a top notch waitress at the
Benjamin Franklin Hotel and brought home $90.00 a week. So our family never felt
any hardships. I only had my Doll two days and what happened I was carrying the
doll down the steps outside and because the doll was sooo big I tripped on its
legs and crashed to the pavement. I wasn't hurt because I landed right on top of
the doll, but the doll wasn't as lucky as me, she ended up with a broken head.
Gertrude gave me one of her Dolls. We were all very Happy! Before I was five yrs
old, we moved around the corner and across the street on Cambrea st. to a house.
On the corner was a grocery store. I can recall going to with a small list(I
always received a piece of candy). My mother charged and paid it once a week. So
many memories there! For Christmas, Doris and I received large, beautiful and
expensive doll coaches. We were always ladies in our starch dresses and bows in
our hair; walking our dolls in those expensive coaches. My father had a band (
he played banjo). We had a piano down in the basement and about two nights a
week his band came over to practice. Well, it was like having a party twice a
week. All the young adults would come over and dance and have a ball. It was
also during Prohibition and my father made his own beer and rootbeer. My father
was extremely intelligent. He only went to the 9th grade but graduated by taking
correspondence courses. He also hooked the mike to the radio and the kids would
listen to him over the radio. On Christmas Eve all the young adults were over
and having a great time and Doris and I could not sleep. There was a grate in
the bathroom floor so we could watch them. We must have fallen asleep on the
floor because when we woke up we were back in our beds. Now it was time for us
to move to the country. I was in the first grade. We moved to Newtown Square on
a farm. Doris and I stayed at my Grandmother Meyer's until my parents moved all
of our furniture. The house was heated by a big black stove in the kitchen that
burned coal. There was a Pot Belly stove in the small living room next to the
kitchen. The large living room was shut off in the winter because it was to
large to heat. We had electricity on the first floor but not upstairs.At night
my mother would light a kerosene lamp and take us upstairs. In the mourning she
would wrap us up in blankets and carry us down to the warm Kitchen, a great big
room with a table that ran full length of the room. There was also a pump that
Doris and I had to prime and pump the water.My father taught my mother how to
raise chickens. This young women was raised in New York city. There were about
150 chickens. There was a rooster that had been a "blue ribbon winner", but
Doris and I would go into the Hen house to collect eggs and the rooster would
attack us. My mother got so mad one day, she grabbed that Blue Ribbon rooster
and chopped its head off. Next we moved to Broomall. This house was a beautiful
large home. In this lovely home my brother Harry was born.We moved again to
Flanarch Hills. These homes were semiattached. Our next move was to Blue bell,
PA. Another great country home.Sooo again we moved on back to city to Richmond,
Philadelphia. There was a play ground across the street and we went to the
movies twice a week. About the time I graduated from 8th grade , we moved to
Tranace, PA. My Mother left our Father due to his infidelity with a women and
she changed her name back to McMullen.We moved again to Broad street and
Alligany, a 3rd floor apartment. We hung out a with group of boys from North
East Catholic High. We did not date these boys but we went everywhere together.
On Sunday my mother worked all day, so we had the boys over for dinner. We were
busy cooking and had the radio on for music when they broke in and announced
that Pearl Harbor had been attacked by Japan and within six months everyone of
the boys were in the service. We started dating shortly after that but the boys
started to get younger and younger. Two of the boys , Harry and Bob Tobin went
to Virginia College to become officers. They flunked out and went to boot camp
training together. Bob and I wrote wonderfully, crazy letters. He would address
my letter as Meyer jr.. We had so much fun writing. I never really dated Bob
Tobin and I always got him dates with my girlfriends. He would break their
hearts. He wrote that he was coming home on leave and then would go over
seas(pacific). So Doris and I threw a big party for him. During the party the
girls put their names in a hat and the boys would pick out a name. The names
picked would then become their partner on a treasure hunt. There were two cars
and twenty people. One of the boys we had invited had a twin sister , who was
crossed eyed. He said he would not come to the party unless she was invited and
of course, I said yes.Bob was the most handsome one there and had the most
wonderful personality! Guess who's name he picked. Your right again, the poor ,
little crossed eyed girl. Bob treated her as if she was the most beautiful girl
there. Well, I'll tell you, I really fell in love with him at that point. Later
back at the apartment, Bob and I went into the living room to sit and watch the
fire. He took out a poem that he had written for me, declaring his love for me.
Before he left he said " we were not to write to one another as we had been
doing because we were to young to be in love and so on and so on". I felt he had
done this because before he had come home, Walt had warned Bob about me, that he
walked where angels feared to tread. I never wrote Bob. Later he dropped me a so
called note and asked me to write, but I wouldn't was angry and felt I had been
made a fool of by him, so I never again wrote.Later I went to a church dance.
Who did I run into but Bob Tobin and the crowd. He wanted me to go on a hay ride
with him and the whole gang on Saturday night. I told him I was going steady and
I couldn't. He pleaded with me to go with him. He said he was going overseas and
was not coming back. I laughed in his face and said, "come on Bob, you can do
better than that. Try to be a little more original" and I walked off the dance
floor. I was so upset the next day because I knew I really loved him. After that
I moved to Glenolden, PA. and as soon as I was settled in, I called Bob's mom
for his address. She said he was on his way to the west coast and when she got
his address she would give it to me. I had this weird dream that night. I was at
a fire hall dance and everyone was dancing and having a great time. Bob was
sitting on a folding chair against the wall and just watching everyone. Now, if
you knew Bob you would realize how strange that was. He was always the life of
the party and always right in the middle of everything. I walked over to him and
said" what is wrong Bob, come on and get into the fun" he answered" No, I'll sit
and watch. The next day, Doris overheard some girls at church saying "did you
here about Bob Tobin getting killed on the way to the West coast". Well, at that
point Doris past out on the church steps. The story we got later was the troop
train was traveling through the desert and every once in a while it would stop
to refuel, all the boys would get out to get a breath of fresh air. The sun was
so hot they would climb under the train for shade. The train would blow its horn
so the boys could get back into the train. Walt was with Bob when the whistle
blew, but Bob did not get out in time and was cut in halve right in front of
Walt's eyes. Walt never did go overseas, because he had a nervous breakdown.
Doris, my friend Ellen and I went to see him laid out, I took one look at that
handsome young man and I said to myself" that's not Bob", for Bob was Life
itself. His mother said that all Bob ever talked about were the Meyer Girls and
that we meant more to him then anyone. That was the story of my great love! I
went into mourning for six months. The rest of Marion's Life story can be found
in her Marriage notes. Included is at least one story about each of her ten
children.
The couple were married on June 16 1945 in Trainer, PA at Holy Cross Church.
They met each other on April 6 1945 at a party when Dave was home for a thirty
day leave from the US Marines during World War 2.
[NF001] Marion telling her story;
At the time of the party mentioned above my sister Doris and I were sharing an
Apartment with a friend. We usually had steak and wine on Saturday Nights and I
was saying how much I did not want to go to the party. I was to go ahead, you
may meet your future husband, so I went and I did! That was the night I met
Dave, your father. He was so handsome in his Marine uniform and those dancing
Irish eyes! How could I resist him. So we married about four months later,
during the war that is the way it happened. Then my babies started coming! My
first pregnancy, I was going to the Naval Hospital for my first check up. They
had just opened up the Maternity section, so I went there for my first
"internal". When I first got there I had to talk to the Doctor. Well, I walked
in to meet this handsome , young Naval Officer in full uniform. I got ready for
the internal and the nurse told me to sit up on the table and I sat on the table
and put my hands in stirrups!!(do you believe it?) The nurse asked me, is this
your first internal? When I shook my head yes, she put me in the proper
position. When the Doctor came in, I closed my eyes and never opened them until
the nurse said " you can open your eyes, the doctor has left". After that they
scheduled me with an elderly Doctor. When Tom was born, he was the first red
headed baby born in the Naval Hospital and the nurses took him all around the
Hospital showing him to all the servicemen. Do You Believe it? When Kathy was
born we had just moved into a new home and we had a big Christening party., 150
people came and went during the course of the day. She had enough dresses, all
different sizes, to last up until her 3rd Birthday. She use to hang on my legs
and when I wanted to walk I would have to drag her with me. Tom was crazy about
her and let her get away with anything. I would put her in her playpen in her
beautiful starch dress and bows and tie her hair up so they would not call her a
boy. Then came number Three, WOW! So many stories I could tell you about
Maureen, I could fill a book. She was funny Bad. I would tell Tom and Kathy, who
were both so good, not to laugh at her and they would run out of the room and
giggle. Then came Danny, Beautiful, Adorable, Dan. He threw Temper Tantrums that
could even last up to three hours. I never raised my voice to him. I would give
a tipped bath and make him comfortable. Then I would put him in his crib;
leaving the door open of our ranch house. He would never let me hold him or love
him, until he was seven years old. One day, he came home from school, I went to
grab him just to hug him; he started to fight me and I said " I don't care , I
love you, If I want to, I'll hug you". He settled down and let me love him.
Mickey was born a year later. My favorite description of Mickey is he was to
good for his own good. As long as he was in the same room with me, he was happy.
By the time of Mickey's first Birthday, he was a head taller than Danny. My
mother would get furious with me, but I would explain to her, he has got to
learn to stand up for his rights; better here in his own home, than out on the
street. I don't think he learned that yet! Candy was born one year after Mickey.
Candy was the sweetest little girl! Everything you wanted in a little girl! When
she was one year old there was a parade in the neighborhood. So we fixed up a
float and had all the brothers and sisters walk her. She won the most Beautiful
Baby Prize. Her brothers and sisters were so proud. Then I was pregnant for the
7th time!! I was 61/2 moths pregnant and I was going to the Hospital for a check
up. I took Kathy with me and told her I was sure the Doctors would tell me I was
to have two Babes. She waited in the hall for me while I was examined. The
Doctor said there was only one Baby. I said, " Doctor there are two Babies".
Bonnie was first and I heard the doctor say, there must be another Baby, Look
how small this one is, When Connie came out, I opened my eyes and said " You'll
listen to me next time,Doctor". He was my Aunt Gertrude's friend and she said it
was his favorite story to tell over coctails. So Kathy got her two Babies. They
were Beautiful! Eight years went by and then Jim came along, so many
stories.When I came home from the Hospital, The whole neighborhood of kids met
our car two blocks away shouting!! He was spoiled by everyone. When he was
naked, he would break away from his sisters who were trying to dry him and would
have to chase him all over the house. He was a little Devil! You could just see
his eyes dancing. He's another one I could write a whole book about. Then came
Jack, 11/2 years later. I was carrying him when your father and I were really
breaking up and when he was an infant. He would cry in his sleep and talk baby
talk. So I moved into he and Jim's room. They both had their own cribs. I slept
on a cot, so when Jack would cry in his sleep, I could be beside him to comfort
him. My favorite story about Jack is, When he was in first grade, he did
something outrageous, (I don't even remember what it was, but it had to be
pretty bad)because he was an angel growing up. You could not spoil him. But I
pulled him into the Bedroom and pulled down his little pants and spanked his
bare behind over my knee. Then I stood him up, he had tears rolling down his
precious face and I said to him " Now do you know why Mom Spanked you?" He said
with tears in his voice "Because you want me to grow up to be nice Man". WOW!
How can you miss with a kid like that? Now he has his own baby boy, who is just
as good as his father. I am so happy for Jack. He deserves that Baby. My Story
about Kathy:
When I was nine years old, I lived in Kennsington, Philadelphia. I went to the
movies every Saturday afternoon;11 cents was all it cost. I went to see the most
beautiful love story, it was called"Withering Heights". If you have never seen
it , the girls name was Kathy. If you ever get the chance , see it or get the
book from the library, you will agree that it is the most beautiful Love story
ever. When I walked out of the theater, I made up my mind that my first
daughter's name would be Kathy. My dear Kathy,that is how it came to be your
name. Over the years I NEVER forgot that movie. So there wasn't any hesitation
of what your name would be when you were born. When I was pregnant for my first
baby, my sister Aileen was living with me. When she would go to bed, I would
work on this huge doll; it must have been as tall as a three year old. I made it
with black pigtails and a lovely three piece suit and blouse; and it had black
paten leather shoes and the jacket I embroidered the name Kathy.
So here I am retired. It's Saturday night and on Channel 24 they play all "Big
Band Music", How much I loved it. As the music plays, all my memories of the
past years flow. I am surprised I can remember 95% of all the words and haven't
missed a beat. What a lovely way to spend an evening. That's my Life. The life
of Marion Loretta Kelley.
"The Big Dog Under The Wagon"
Marion L. Kelley [version]
Come wife says good old farmer Gray, put on your things tis market day, and
we'll be off to the nearest town, we'll be back before the sun goes down. Spot,
Umm, no we'll leave old Spot behind. Now Spotty barked and Spotty whined and
soon made up his doggish mind, to follow under the wagon. Away they went at good
round pace, and joy came into the farmers face, poor Spot, he did want to come,
but he'll guard the barn and guard the cotton and keep the cattle out of the
lot. I'm not so sure of that! Said Spot, "THE BIG DOG UNDER THE WAGON" The
farmer all produce sold, got his pay in yellow gold. He tarted home through the
lonely forest, HARK! A robber sprang from behind a tree, your money or your
life, said he! The moon was up, but he did not see, "THE BIG DOG UNDER THE
WAGON" Now Spot neared barked and Spot neared whined, but he quickly caught the
thief behind and pulled him down the marley gate, and tore his coat and tore his
shirt! The robber uttered not a sound, while hands and feet the farmer bound,
and tumbled him into the wagon. And now, our Hero grand and gay, a silver collar
he wears today, among his friends and among his foes, he follows on his horney
toes! " THE BIG DOG UNDER THE WAGON"
[117]
OCCU: Manager for Discount Toys
COMM: B.S Degree in Textiles at Virginia Tech
_FA1:
PLAC Same as Johns