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| Decatur and Vic Breeden |
During World War II, many of my ancestors left the
Shenandoah Valley that had been their home for many generations to seek work in
Washington DC. And that’s exactly where I found my great-grand aunt Victoria Elizabeth Jollett and her husband Decatur Breeden in 1940.
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| Click to enlarge |
They were renting an apartment for $35 a month from
William and Sarah Moore on Twelfth Street.
The Breedens had not been there very long, it seems, as they said they
were still living in Shenandoah, Virginia in 1935, where they had been living
all their married lives since 1902.
Decatur was an engineer with the Navy Yard earning $1820
for a full year’s work in 1939, roughly $30,300 today. He worked 39 hours during the last week of
March 1940. Although Vic claimed to be UNABLE to work, she actually never
worked, according to previous census records.
She suffered from asthma for many years.
There is no informant indicated, so it’s unclear who gave
incorrect information about Vic’s and Decatur’s ages. They are recorded as 58 and 54, respectively;
however, the ages should have been Vic 62 and Decatur 63.
An interesting story about them is not to be found in
census records. Vic and Decatur were
actually first cousins once removed. Now
here’s a tangled mess when figuring out relationships. Vic’s father James Franklin Jollett and
Decatur’s grandmother Lydia Jollett Breeden were brother and sister; therefore,
Decatur’s grandmother was Vic’s aunt.
Let’s keep going. Decatur’s
father James Madison Breeden was then Vic’s cousin as well as
father-in-law. Decatur was not just the
husband of my great-grand aunt but also my second cousin twice removed.
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| Vic at a Jollett Reunion |
©2014, Wendy
Mathias. All rights reserved.
I'm my own Grandpa....
ReplyDeleteYou are indeed.
DeleteWoW! I think the age thing is interesting...my mom's baptismal certificate gives a different birthdate than the date she was told she was born...there was never a bith certificate so who knows!
ReplyDeleteHappy Sunday!
My grandmother knew she was born in October, but she was never sure whether it was the 9th or 19th. She picked October 9.
DeleteOur family trees sometimes grow together.
ReplyDeleteGood way to put it!
DeleteWendy, you and your sister Mary are so funny!
ReplyDeleteI have the same kind of tangled tree mess with one of my somewhat distant ancestors. Only they were first cousins (no once removed for them). And you know that future post about someone being indicted I hinted at before? Ya, it has to do with one of these very ancestors.