Thomas William and Emily Mary (Adams) Andrews

Emily Mary Adams was the second child of Alexander and Mary Jane (Porter) Adams. She was born on her parents farm in February 1859 in Ophir Township, LaSalle County, Illinois. She lived there until the entire family moved to Maple Hill Township, Wabaunsee County, Kansas in spring 1879.

Emily Adams attended rural one-room schools in LaSalle County, Illinois and was 19-years-old when she moved to Maple Hill. There are a few articles in the Maple Hill News Items about Emily Adams.

1881 – September 23 Mr. Alexander Adams has left to bring Mrs. Adams [Mary Jane Porter Adams] home from a visit to relatives in Illinois where she has made an extended visit. The church social at Mr. Adams home last Wednesday was a very pleasant affair indeed. The supper and entertainment were most enjoyable. It was to be noticed that the duties of hostess were quite capably filled by Miss Emily Adams, who graced the evenings entertainment with fine vocal and piano selections and took pains to see that everyones evening was enjoyable.

This would have been a social to raise funds for the Eliot Congregational Church (The Old Stone Church). The Adams joined the church soon after their arrival in 1879 and the social would have been held to raise money for the building of the Old Stone Church, which was completed and dedicated in August 1882.

1882 May 10 – Mr. Franklin Adams has purchased all stock in the Rossville Ferry. His farm is located nearby and he expects that the Ferry will accommodate a lot of business between Maple Hill and Rossville.
We had a killing frost this week.
The new store of Brooks and Verity is progressing rapidly. [This was the original two-story store building located just to the southwest of the present bridge crossing Mill Creek on K-30.]
The Maple Hill Sunday School of the Eliot Congregational Church was organized April 23, with the following elected: Mr. M. D. Weltner, Superintendent; Mr. C. Gieger, Asst. Superintendent; Miss Ella Weltner, Secretary; and Mr. William D. Warren, Treasurer. The new church is nearly completed.
Miss Emily Adams has been ill with the chills for three weeks but is stronger now.
The mad dogs have been causing a lot of excitement latterly.
Incognito

Ive included the entire news article because there were interesting events going on at the time, but the writer Incognito, whose identity is not known, was obviously acquainted with the Adams family and felt the illness of Emily Adams was important to the community.

1882 – September 4 Miss Emily Adams has left for a visit with Miss Kate Cotton of Wakarusa.
It is very hot and dry. Threshers are almost done.
Mr. M. W. Janes hay was all burned by a prairie fire last week.
Lots in the new graveyard at the Eliot Congregational Church are being staked off and sold for $10 each including perpetual care.

Miss Kate Cotton was the daughter of William Frost and Helen (Gen) Cotton. Her parents were charter members of the Beecher Bible and Rifle Church at Wabaunsee, and although her father was a lawyer in Vermont, he preferred to be a country squire and teach in the nearby school at Wabaunsee. He was a prominent member of anti-slavery groups, a conductor on the Underground Railway, and served two terms in the Kansas Legislature representing Wabaunsee County. Kate Cotton and Emily Adams were the same age. Kate finished rural schools in the Wabaunsee Community and eventually completed one or two years at Washburn University of Topeka, where many of the New Englanders emigrants sent their children. She never married and taught school all her life before returning to care for her aged parents. Emily Adams and she became friends and exchanged visits during their youth.

Emily M. Adams was married in 1883 at the age of 23: 1883 – March 16 Married at the home of the brides parents, by the Rev. W. S. Crouch, Mr. Thomas W. Andrews and Miss Emily M. Adams.
Joe Davis has moved into his new home north of the Blacksmith Shop.
Mr. W. A. Pierce is building a tenant house.
Mr. Franklin Adams is going to open a new farm.
L. T. Matthews is going to break 200 acres for Mr. Adams.

Only one further mention of the name Emily M. (Adams) Andrews was found in the Maple Hill News Items, and that was as a surviving daughter in her mothers 1916 obituary.

Some may wonder why this marriage took place at the brides home rather than the newly completed Eliot Congregational Church, but during this period of time, home weddings were much more common than church weddings.

Thomas William Andrews was the son of Thomas Andrews, Sr. and Susanna (Critchfield) Andrews. He was born on the Andrews farm on December 5, 1859 in Green Township, Ashland County, Ohio. He was the ninth of twelve children. You may recall that his father died in a farm accident in September 1865, three months before his youngest child, John Kithcart Andrews was born in January 1866.

Susanna (Critchfield) Andrews continued to live on their large farm in Ashland County, until sometime between 1875 and 1880 when she sold the property and moved West to Rossville, Shawnee County, Kansas. There she purchased a 600-acre farm which was operated by her sons, Joseph, Thomas W., and John Andrews. They are all shown living in Susannas home on the farm when the 1880 US Census was taken. This Census also enumerates their sisters Martha and Elmira Belle Andrews as living on the farm. I was not able to find any mention of Thomas W. Andrews education but he was grown by the time the family moved to Rossville, Kansas so its likely that he was educated in Ohio.

Although the US 1890 Census was burned in a tragic fire in Washington, DC, the census for 1885, 1895, and 1900 are extant and I was able to find the family on each of these enumerations. All of these Censuses list their home address as 79 Main Street, Rossville, Kansas. It lists the occupation of Thomas William Andrews as farmer although there is no indication that he is associated with his mothers farm. It would appear that they owned and operated their own farm.

During those years, Tom and Emily Andrews became the parents of five children:
Frank Adams Andrews born in July 1884
Grace Andrews born in June 1886
Ethelyn Andrews born in September 1890
Thomas William Andrews, Jr. born in September 1894
Everett Leslie Andrews born in September 1896.

Sometime between 1900 and 1910, the family moved to 440 Chestnut Street, Long Beach, California.

As I mentioned earlier, Thomas W. Andrews became an employee of his uncle, William Andrews Clark, and helped manage the 8,000 acres of farmland Clark owned near Los Angeles. W. A. Clark was a mining, railroad, and real estate magnet and in 1910 was listed as one of the ten wealthiest men in America. He was married to Mary Jane Kithcart Andrews, the sister of Thomas Andrews, Sr. and aunt of Thomas W. Andrews.

In the beginning, this land was used to raise fruit, vegetables and nuts but eventually as time went by, it was sold off for real estate development as Los Angeles grew.

Emily Mary (Adams) Andrews died at her home in Long Beach, California on December 15, 1919. The following short obituary was printed in the Los Angeles Times: Died at her home on December 15, 1919, Mrs. Emily (Adams) Andrews, age 82 and a native of Illinois. She lived in Long Beach for several years before moving to Rancho San Antonio a year ago. She is survived by her husband, Thomas W. Andrews, Sr.; sons Frank A., Thomas W. Jr., Everett Leslie, and daughters Mrs. Grace Moode, and Miss Ethelyn Andrews, all of Huntington Park; two brothers Franklin and Horace G., of Maple Hill, Kansas and a sister, Mrs. Alice (Adams) Miller of Long Beach. Burial took place in Sunnyside Cemetery, Long Beach, California.

Im a bit puzzled by the reference to Huntington Park, because the US Census for 1920 was taken the year following her death and it lists Thomas Andrews, Sr. and sons Thomas Andrews, Jr. and Everett Leslie Andrews as residents of what was then called Rancho San Antonio southwest of Los Angeles. Today, that area is called Bell Garden, California. The 1920 Census lists Thomas Andrews Sr. as a general farmer. Also living in the house were a married couple who are listed as household servants. About three thousand acres owned by William Andrews Clark was donated to the City of Los Angeles and remains a vast park and green space at the center of the city.

I have not been able to find Thomas William Andrews, Sr. on the 1930 US Census, but I know that he did not die until January 6, 1939. His death was recorded in Los Angeles County, California records, but I was not able to find a burial location. There is a large stone in the Sunnyside Cemetery for his wife, but his name nor death date are not chiseled into the stone.

The oldest of the children of Thomas William and Emily (Adams) Andrews, was Frank Adams Andrews, named for Emilys brother and father. He was born July 1, 1884 at Rossville, Kansas. Frank married Hazel Wolff about 1908. Hazel was the daughter of Charles and Amelia Wolff. Charles Wolff was owner of a large meat packing house in Topeka, Kansas. Frank A. Andrews first worked as a clerk for the Wolff Company, and on the 1910 Kansas Census, he and his wife were living in Rossville, Kansas where his occupation was listed as cattle and grain dealer. They were the parents of one daughter, Jeanette Wolff Andrews who was born on December 31, 1908 at Rossville, Kansas.

I wasnt able to determine the exact date of their move to California, but by the time the 1920 US Census was taken, the Frank Adams Andrews family had moved to Los Angeles, California where his occupation was listed as investment broker.

When the 1930 US Census was taken, Frank, Hazel and Jeanette Andrews were residents of Los Angeles, California and his occupation is listed as oil company president. There is also a live-in servant listed as a part of the household.
They lived at 233 S. Van Ess Avenue, Los Angeles, CA. By the time the 1940 Census was taken, the family had moved to 940 W. Orange Grove in Monrovia, CA. Their daughter Jeanette Andrews is a single member of the household along with one live-in servant in 1930.

Hazel Wolff Andrews passed away on March 4, 1941 and Frank Adams Andrews on January 25, 1951. Both are buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens, Glendale, California. I have not been able to find a death date or burial location for Jeanette Andrews, but she is not buried in her parents crypt. So far as Ive been able to learn Jeanette Wolff Andrews never married.

The second child of Thomas William and Emily Mary (Adams) Andrews was Grace Alice Andrews, born June 18, 1886 at Rossville, Kansas. Grace Andrews was still living with her parents in Rossville, Kansas when the US Census was taken in 1905.

In 1907, she married Joseph Edwin Moode at her parents home in Rossville, Kansas. Mr. Moode was the son of John and Louisa (Musgrove) Moode and was born April 27, 1878 in Iowa where the family lived at that time. John Moode fought with the Indiana Infantry Volunteers during the Civil War, and when the 1870 US Census was taken, he was listed as the owner of a dry goods store in Pleasant Grove, Iowa. When the 1880 US Census was taken, the Moode family was living in Keokuk, Iowa where they continued to operate a dry goods store, but the census says that John Moode had retired and the business was now operated by his son James and by his brother William Moode.

When the 1895 Kansas Census was taken, the Moode family are listed as residents of Sabetha, where John Moode and his sons are listed as carpenters. However they had moved to Topeka, Kansas by 1900 and the parents remained there the rest of their lives.

Joseph E. Moode is first listed as a farmer on the 1900 Census and then as a merchant in Rossville, Kansas when the 1905 Kansas Census was taken. He was married to Grace Alice Andrews in the home of her parents in Rossville, Kansas in 1907.

When the 1910 US Census was taken, Joseph E. and Grace A. Moode were listed as owners of a general store in Rossville, Kansas. The exact time of their move to Los Angeles, California is not known but the 1915 City Directory lists he and Grace as residents of 1451 Vine Street, Glendale, CA. Joseph was listed as an officer of his brother-in-laws company, Harry H. Wolff & Company.

Joseph and Grace A. (Andrews) Moode were the parents of three children: Warner Thomas Moode born in 1914; Frank Andrews Moode born in October 27, 1916 and Mary Jo Moode born April 23, 1926. All of the children were born in California.

Warner Thomas Moode died at the age of 17 in Huntington Park, California in September 1931. Frank Andrews Moode was married to Florence R. Moode, and died on September 6, 1986 at Downey, Los Angeles, California. Frank A. Moode was a veteran and served in the US Army. I was able to find no further information about his family. Mary Jo Moode was still living when the US Census was taken in 1940, but I was able to find no further information about her.

The third child of Thomas W. and Emily M (Adams) Andrews was Ethelyn Andrews. If she had a middle name, Ive not found it recorded anywhere. She was born in Rossville, Kansas on September 20, 1890. I met Ethelyn Andrews on two occasions when she visited my great grandmother, Mrs. Leander (Susanna Jeanetta Reinhardt) Jones. Susana Jeanettas father and mother were George A. Reinhardt and Mary Joanna (Andrews) Reinhardt. They were great aunt and uncle to the Andrews children. Susanna Jeannetta was the cousin of Thomas William Andrews on her mothers side of the family. Ethelyn Andrews and Susanna Jeanetta (Reinhardt) Jones remained friends throughout their lives.

So far was I have been able to determine, Ethelyn stayed at home and cared for her parents. Her mother, Emily Mary (Adams) Andrews, died first in 1919, and her father died in 1939. Ethelyn apparently inherited much of her parents estate, retaining their household servants, and was never listed on census reports as being employed. She did sell the big family home in Long Beach, and moved to a smaller house in Huntington Park and then San Antonio (now Bell) California. She also had a winter home in Twenty-Nine Palms, California. Ethelyn liked to travel and made several trips to Hawaii and Europe. She died September 23, 1975 and is buried in Rose Hills Memorial Park, Whittier, CA.

The fourth child of Thomas W. and Emily Mary (Adams) Andrews was Thomas Adams Andrews, born at Rossville, Kansas on September 21, 1894. He attended schools in Kansas and California and was married to Louise Loretta Mieuex, a native of Minnesota. In the 1940 US Census, he was listed as a self-employed furnace contractor in the housing industry. I was able to find no other information about his family, other than he died February 12, 1981 in Sun City, Riverside, California and is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Covina Hills, California. I was not able to find a death date or any other information for his wife.

The fifth and last child of Thomas William and Emily Mary (Adams) Andrews, was Everett Lesly Andrews. He was born September 30, 1896 at Rossville, Kansas. He moved to California with his family prior to 1915, and completed his education in California.

He was married to Alice Blakeslee on March 26, 1927. Alice was born on March 26, 1900 in Lebanon, New London, Connecticut, the daughter of Joseph Benjamin and Mary Eliza (Barker) Blakeslee. She was moved to California with members of her family and resided in Huntington Park, California.

Everett and Alice Andrews were parents of two children: Jo Anne Andrews born January 8, 1930 and Joseph Everett Andrews born May 10, 1933, both in Los Angeles County, California. Jo Anne Andrews died at the young age of 17, on February 21, 1947.

Joseph Everett Andrews married Grace Mary Fugate on August 26, 1956 at Fresno, California. Grace Mary was the daughter of Archibald B. and Dorothy (Rice) Fugate. Grace was born March 16, 1936 in Fresno, California. Joseph E. Andrews died August 28, 1991 and Grace Andrews died December 25, 1979 in San Bernardino County, California. I could find no other information.

This concludes the information about the family of Emily Mary (Adams) Andrews. I will next be writing about the third child of Alexander and Mary Jane (Porter) Adams: Horace Greeley Adams, Sr.

Photo One: This is the only photograph I have that shows all four children of Mary Jane (Porter) Adams. It belonged to Mrs. Jessie (Stewart) Adams. I believe it was taken in 1915 or 1916, just prior to the death of Mary Jane Adams. L-R are Emily Adams Andrews, Horace G. Adams, Alice Adams Miller and Franklin Adams. Mary Jane Adams is sitting in the wheel chair.

Photo Two: The tombstone of Emily M. (Adams) Andrews in Sunnyside Cemetery, Long Beach, California. Her name, birth and death years are inscribed on the back of the stone but there is no mention of her husband, Thomas William Andrews.