She's the One at the Head of the Table
Several years before I put the car in drive and really got started on this genealogy trip, my husband, Tim, was given a number of family photographs by his father, Roy. The photos were copies Roy had made so that his children and grandchildren would know their ancestors.
Here I must take a moment to acknowledge my first mentor in genealogy: my father-in-law. Roy took an interest in family history at a young age and his collection of information and photographs over the years has provided me with a great many leads and, of course, wonderful images to put faces to names. Whether he meant to or not, he encouraged my efforts by expressing delight and interest in my family research discoveries, so, thanks, Roy!
Among the photographs were several of a fresh-faced woman with large blue eyes, sometimes smiling and sometimes pensive. This was Mae (McDonald) Whalley, Tim’s great-grandmother.
Mae (McDonald) Whalley, circa 1898
Mae lived for nearly 90 years (September 6, 1880-January 27, 1970), and I found myself thinking about all of the changes - advances and achievements, turmoil and upheaval - she must have witnessed in her lifetime, much like my grandfather, Gentry Keener, who had lived to be 91. Unlike Gentry, though, I never knew Mae, and she didn’t have several articles written about her in local newspapers from which to draw reference. Luckily, Roy shared his memories of his grandmother with me, as did Mae’s granddaughter, Jackie.
What fascinates me most about Mae is how she spent the first half of her life in Canada on the Niagara peninsula, in a rural environment where farming and fishing were mainstays, before electricity in every home and a car in every garage were the rule, and where winters could be brutal, while the second half of her life was spent in the Los Angeles area, where urban sprawl, modernization, and California sunshine saturated daily life. Life is often full of such contrasts, but this one strikes me as particularly dramatic.
Mae was born to Thomas and Mary Ann (Culleton) McDonald in 1880, the second of three daughters. Thomas McDonald, who owned a livery stable, was a blacksmith by trade (another grandpa who was a blacksmith!) in Dunnville, Ontario. Dunnville is located on the Grand River in Haldimand County, about an hour’s drive from Buffalo, New York. At the time Mae was born, it was still a village, having largely been settled by Loyalists seeking refuge from the government of the newly independent American colonies (admittedly, this is a strange concept to me - the Revolutionaries are heroic figures to this American girl, so what’s this about seeking refuge?? [insert winky face]).
Mae’s parents were children of British soldiers and Irish immigrants. Thomas’s father, Dennis McDonald (1821-1888), was a native of County Cork who retired to Dunnville in 1864 after 25 years of service in the Royal Canadian Rifles. His wife, Julia (Wahl) (1828-1899), came from Dublin. Mary Ann’s father, Matthew Culleton (1831-1895) (who was either born in County Kilkenny or County Kerry - there are conflicting sources), was a decorated soldier who served with the 17th Regiment in the Crimean War before transferring to the Royal Canadian Rifles and continuing to serve for a total of 21 years. Like Dennis McDonald, when Matthew retired from the military, he settled in Dunnville. It’s not known at this time in what county in Ireland his wife, Mary Ann (McLaughlin) (1840-1904), was born.
Would it shock anyone if I said that the Irish McDonald and Culleton families were practicing Roman Catholics? Didn’t think so. In Dunnville, there was no organized Catholic parish until 1886, and until the new St. Michael’s Church was dedicated in 1887, Mass was celebrated in a building that looked very much like a barn, with the congregation ministered to by various visiting priests. It’s a safe bet that Thomas McDonald and Mary Ann Culleton became better acquainted through this community connection (and that their fathers knew of each other because of their military service).
Not much is known about Mae’s mother, Mary Ann. (Mae could have been named after her, as Mae is also listed as Mary Ann in the 1901 Census of Canada.) About Mae’s father, Roy shares a colorful tale. As the local liveryman, Thomas supplied horse and buggy rentals for visitors to the area. He of course had standards for the condition in which his animals and carriages were to be returned, and on one particular occasion when a horse was returned to him in a lather and the buggy ill-abused, Thomas is said to have thrown both horse and buggy into the Grand River in a fit of rage! Perhaps this story from a Dunnville newspaper dated March 18, 1885 lends some perspective:
CHEAP LIVERY – During the latter part of the Fall a gentleman (so called) made his appearance in this town, describing himself as ’Larough & Co.’ and after a few successful exhibitions wended his way westward. Before starting, however, he procured a team of horses and sleigh from Mr. Thos. McDonald, with the promise of a weekly return for hire beside the maintenance of the horses. After an absence of 2 months and finding no return of either stock or collateral, Mr. McDonald became alarmed and at once began search for his property. For a day or two he was unsuccessful, but fortunately, a commercial traveler gave him sufficient information to enable him to find the parties at a place called Langton, a few miles from Tilsonburg. He returned on Saturday with the team, thankful enough for getting them, even without any remuneration for their services. People cannot be too wary in dealing with individuals of this class.
Thomas McDonald, with grandsons, circa 1904
As the child of a blacksmith, Mae was around horses a lot. She had a favorite horse that her father named after her. Roy recalls Mae talking about the many occasions she would ride “May” down to the Welland Canal.
Pretty much all I could find out about Mae’s childhood came from the memories of her grandchildren. Granddaughter Jackie said that Mae taught her and another granddaughter, Joan, how to say their prayers each night as well as seeing to it that the girls went to church each Sunday. The picture below was probably taken on the occasion of Mae’s First Communion.
Mae McDonald, circa 1890-95
Mae’s commitment to her faith did not stop her from falling in love with the dashing Percival (“Percy”) R. Whalley (whose family belonged to the Church of England). Born on September 25, 1879, and raised in Welland, Ontario (situated between Dunnville and Buffalo, NY), Percy was a popular, athletic young man with business aspirations in the tailoring profession. His father, John Edward Whalley (1850-1913), was the proprietor of a high-end clothing shop in Welland, which advertised the latest fashions from Europe (Mr. Whalley even making a trip back to his native Yorkshire, England, to acquire new merchandise, according to a local newspaper). Percy’s mother, Mary (Hern) Whalley (1850-1932), was a businesswoman in her own right, running a hotel that she and John Whalley owned, The Whalley House.
Percy Whalley, circa 1899
No one can say how Mae and Percy met, but given that Percy would one day switch gears and go into the hotel business himself, I believe the two may have encountered each other through mutual family connections in the hotel industry. Two possibilities stand out. The first is that Mae’s uncle, Dennis McDonald, was the proprietor of the Royal Hotel in Dunnville from about 1890 until his untimely death in 1902. The second possibility is through the marriage of Mae’s older sister, Julia, to a local man named George Martin. George was a fisherman when the two married, but his parents had long been the proprietors of a popular local hotel called the Exchange. In 1904, George would build The Victoria Hotel in the neighboring village of Port Maitland. The hotel was a favorite tourist spot until it was razed to the ground in 1944.
Whatever the circumstances of their meeting, Percy and Mae must have been head over heels for one another. The two were married in Niagara Falls, NY on April 30, 1899. Their first son, John Edward, was born in November of that year, and seven more children followed: Reginald Percival (1901-1974), Roy James (1903-1982), Beatrice May (1905-1973), Florence Elviga (1908-1986), Mabel Isabel (1910-1983), Marion Gladys (1912-1999), and Thomas McDonald (1914-1999).
Mae, circa 1910-1915
Welland was even smaller than Dunnville, so apart from her new role as wife and mother, not much changed for Mae by the move to this town. She was still near family and friends. She was still on the Niagara peninsula. However, Welland was closer to Buffalo, NY, and in the years to come, its population would grow exponentially compared to that of Dunnville, as its proximity to Niagara’s hydropower gave it an advantage in industrial and manufacturing opportunities. In Welland, Percy could pursue his business ventures, while Mae stayed home, tending to their children.
Percy was a man with many interests and friends, ready to take on anything, or so it seemed. Besides his tailoring business, Percy served as Fire Captain for Welland Fire Company 1 in 1904. He played hockey and knew how to cook. Pretty soon, Percy would make his own forays into the hotel business. Remember The Victoria, the hotel in Port Maitland owned by Mae’s brother-in-law that was later destroyed by fire? Prior to WWI, the summer seasons in Port Maitland were especially lively, with guests filling the beaches along Lake Erie during the day, and the hotels offering moonlit hayrides and musical entertainment in the evening. The area swarmed with American tourists and locals eager for fun. I can imagine Percy and Mae enjoying themselves at The Victoria and other local hotels owned by friends and family.
Perhaps Percy enjoyed himself too much on occasion. Grandson Roy tells of an incident in which Percy made off to a bar/hotel in Buffalo. When Mae heard that he was in the company of a lady friend, she went after him. A scuffle between Mae and the other woman ensued (I believe it's called an “ass-kicking”), and Mae brought Percy home. You go, Mae!
Percy Whalley, hobbies on display
After Percy quit his tailoring business (sometime after 1911), he took on the City Hotel in Welland. He would later sell this establishment to a local developer, but it's worth noting that Mae’s younger sister, Katharine (“Kate”), may have managed this hotel for a time after her marriage to Maurice Edgar in 1903. Their wedding announcement in the local Welland newspaper advises that the two “took up residence in the City Hotel” after a brief visit to Buffalo. Later, Kate was a widowed hotelkeeper in Dunnville, according to the 1921 Census of Canada (Maurice having died in 1920). My contact at the Dunnville District Heritage Association thinks it was Dunnville’s own Victoria Hotel (not to be confused with the one in Port Maitland) that Kate was managing in 1921, described as “the place to be in Dunnville.” Whatever the case, clearly, running hotels was “in the family.”
While we are on the topic, someone should write a book about the history of hotels on the Niagara Peninsula. There were so many hotels! The trouble is that the hotels changed names and owners so frequently, and so many were destroyed by fire, it is difficult to pin down who owned what and when. I guess I won’t be the one to write that book, huh?!
The McDonald sisters: Mae, Julia, and Kate
After selling his interest in the City Hotel, Percy’s next investment was The Arlington Hotel in Welland. This hotel would suffer a major setback during renovations in 1917, when faulty construction practices caused the rear part of the building to collapse, destroying a hall and ten rooms upstairs. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured, but the financial damages were extensive. It would end up in court, and at the end of the case, Percy and his business partner, George Toyn, recovered over $9,000 from the contractor.
Percy was on to new things by 1921. A city directory of Buffalo shows he was in the business of “soft drinks” as Whalley and Clendening on Clinton Street. Percy’s associate, James Clendening, was an Irish lad from Welland who listed his occupation on travel documents to the U.S. as “bartender.” Hmm, interesting. There was a little thing called Prohibition in 1921, remember? Ah, Percy. You couldn't fool Mae, and you can't fool us.
In 1924, Mae and Percy moved across the continent to Southern California. By this point, half of their children had reached adulthood. Their eldest daughter, Beatrice, had been married in grand fashion in 1921 to Gerald Festing in a wedding ceremony attended by many family and friends. Beatrice and Gerald were the first to move to California, leaving Ontario in 1923. They must have liked what they saw, as all but Percy and Mae’s oldest son, John, followed them to The Golden State.
Life wasn’t as glamorous in California as it had been in Welland and Buffalo. Although the population of Los Angeles at that time already topped one million, its cultural and physical landscape was still a work in progress, and it had not yet reached its mythical, enchanted Hollywood status. Plus, it was filled with strangers. Percy and Mae missed the social connections they had back home. They sought out new social experiences, like Catalina Island and restaurants on Sunset Boulevard, but it is said that Percy complained of being bored.
About a year after their move to California, Mae’s father died. Even at age 74, Thomas McDonald’s passing was unexpected, as his wife had gone for a visit to Toronto that weekend, and he had just attended church the very morning of his death. Mae, of course, was unable to attend his funeral.
Two months later, Mae’s aunt, Julia (sister of Thomas), passed away, and the following year, in 1926, Mae lost her mother.
Mae in 1925, before a string of heartbreaking losses occurred
Meanwhile, Percy was again trying something new. This time, he delivered blocks of ice to Los Angeles businesses on behalf of the American Refrigerating Company. On one particularly hot day in May 1926 (a day when people reportedly dropped dead of the heat), Percy was photographed by a reporter sitting atop a tall block of ice wearing a fur overcoat. The newspaper article (which appeared in The Los Angeles Examiner) mentions that business was booming that day, with three times the usual sales. Percy really hams it up for the camera, with a cigar dangling from his mouth and ledger and pencil in hand.
Percy also worked for a time in the Torrance oil fields, according to Roy. But this charismatic man’s life was about to be cut short. In 1929, at the age of 49, Percy died of complications following surgery. Mae had been married for 30 years to Percy, and she would not marry again.
The year 1930 found Mae living with her sons, Reg, Roy, and Tom (who was still in high school), and her daughters, Florence (along with her husband, Bob Cain), Mabel (and husband, Loren Hutto), and Marion in Los Angeles. Beatrice and Gerald lived nearby. For the remainder of Mae’s long life, her children gathered around her and ensured that she was cared for.
During the 1940s, when Mae lived with daughters Beatrice and Mabel and their families, granddaughter Jackie remembers a general pooling of resources. They counted ration stamps during the war (WWII), pushed two tables together for meals, and spent their free time together down at the beach. Jackie recalls that there were always many people around, that it was always “interesting.” Mae loved having her family together. On the weekends there were poker parties, and if Mae had a few drinks, she would dance an Irish jig.
Family back home were certainly not forgotten. For a short time, Mae returned to the area, living with her daughter, Marion, and her husband (Gerald Reardon), in Buffalo. Mae’s daughter, Mabel, went back to Welland in 1947 to attend the funeral of Percy’s sister, Mable (Aunt Boo, as she was called). Her sons made trips back a number of times. And in the early 1950s, Mae came to the assistance of her son, Reg, during a family crisis by staying for a time with him and his son, John, in Ft. Erie. For Mae, family was everything.
My best-loved photograph of Mae is the one taken at a favorite family gathering spot on Sunset Boulevard, a German restaurant called the Hofbrau. The photo was taken on December 27, 1941, and mailed to daughter Marion in Buffalo as a holiday greeting. Seated at the head of the checkered-cloth table, surrounded by five of her children (and a few of their spouses), beer stein in hand, Mae is smiling and in her element, relaxing with family. I have come to think of this photo as “the one with Mae at the head of the table.”
Left to right: Roy, John, Charlotte Beyer (John’s girlfriend), Mabel, Mae, Bob Cain (Flo’s husband), Flo, Lois (Tom’s wife), and Tom
By the 1960s, Mae was living in Long Beach with family, still enjoying her roles as mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. The Los Angeles area had changed dramatically over 30 years, and Mae had been there to witness it all: smog, earthquakes, flooding, the end of Prohibition, the flowering of the Golden Age of Hollywood, the murders of Bugsy Siegel and the Black Dahlia, and the opening of Disneyland. (True story: Roy said that the police came by their house in 1947 to see if anyone had noticed anything suspicious. The Black Dahlia’s body had been discovered in a nearby field.) The population of Los Angeles County had ballooned to six million and was still going strong. I doubt Percy would have found it quite so boring then!
Percy likely would have been delighted that his youngest son owned a popular bar and restaurant called the King’s X. Once a week, Tom Whalley would pick Mae up in his car (she never drove) and bring her out for an evening of dining and entertainment. The King’s X would sometimes see celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton stop by. Mae loved to sit at the piano bar and listen to piano player Tony’s rendition of her favorite song, “How Much is That Doggy in the Window?”
Comments
Post a Comment