Florence Sholes and Clarence Carey
Posted Monday, October 24, 2016
In AnnisHubbard, Carey, Carver, CharlesSholes, FlorenceSholes, Hubbard, OrlandCarverJr, Stories
With No comments
Updated 6/21/18 to include Census and Draft Registration Information
As mentioned previously, Annis Hubbard and Charles Sholes had one daughter, Florence Octavia Sholes, born on December 31, 1890. I don't know how much time she spent with her biological father. Chances are she didn't know him, but that is conjecture.
At age 16 Florence married a 27-year-old from Iowa named Clarence Dean Carey. Don't lose track of Uncle Clarence. He just keeps showing up in this family. We name a Carver boy after him. We marry him, twice. And we have a lot of children with him.
May 1910 – Washington, Knox, Nebraska
The census shows the family living in Washington, Knox, Nebraska.
Jan 1920 – Mullen, Boyd, Nebraska
By 1920 the family has moved to Mullen, Boyd, Nebraska. This is about 16 miles east of Spencer, where Orland and Annis are living in 1910.
Sept 1918 – Bristow, Boyd, Nebraska
Per Clarence’s WWI draft registration, the family is in Bristow, Boyd, Nebraska, where Clarence is farming.
May 1921 -- Florence dies in Bristow
I feel like Aunt Florence was probably exhausted all of the time. She had nine kids in 14 years. Shortly after the birth of child number nine, on May 22, 1921, she died of peritonitis.
After her death, Clarence and the children went to stay with Annis and her second husband, Orland Carver, in Norfolk, Nebraska. They put up a tent in the back yard and camped out while Clarence tried to figure out what to do.
It must have been very hard for a low-income farmer/laborer with that many children to figure out how to care for them and make a living at the same time. Annis helped, but she was not in good health. Some of the children ended up in foster care or were adopted out.
"Florence had died at the age of thirty-three or thirty-four, at the birth of her ninth child. I could scarcely believe it -- nine children in fourteen years.
"Eleven days later, a 1914 Overland full of Careys came to a halt in our driveway. The kids probably didn't pile out according to age; and I'm not too sure whether fourteen-year-old William LaVern was even along. I think he probably came later by bus or train.
"Be that as it may, twelve-year-old Esther was there. A pretty child she was, and almost petite. She had probably been holding the baby during the ride, although ten-year-old Marvin or eight-year-old Richard could have -- or perhaps even seven-year-old Harold. However, it would hardly have been wise to delegate this chore to five-year-old Louis Gustave (Gussy), four-year-old Mabel, or two-year-old Ida Grace, known to us as Gracie.
"Esther and Dick could have passed for twins, had he been big enough. The rest of the family had lighter colored hair -- more on the brownish order -- and it wasn't wavy like Esther's and Dick's. Neither was Vern's. As for that tiny bundle they called "Clareton" (Clareton Lee) I just couldn't tell whom he looked like. I remember well, however, that Clarence, his father, took Clareton from Esther's arms, carried him to my mother, who stood waiting in the doorway of our three-room house, and placed him in her arms.
"'Here Grandma', he said smiling, 'take him. He's yours.'
Dad goes on to explain that between the Carvers and Careys, there were 16 people in a three-room house. Dad and his brother Ashton were already sleeping out back in a tent due to lack of room. The solution? Grandpa and Clarence emptied out the tent and created double bunk beds (full sized beds that several children could cram into at once.)
"Poor Mom! Can you imagine a sick person managing a home with so many children in it? I don't know how she managed to cook for such a gang, even with the help of Esther and Sina. Drainboards? Sinks? Faucets? Not in our house. We simply washed in one dishpan, rinsed in another, and somehow stacked the dishes on the table to drain.
"The family made do like this most of the summer, until Clarence Carey found a house for rent. Eventually the government stepped in and put several of his children in fostor homes, much to his distress. The baby, however, stayed with Grandma.
"When Grandma was hospitalized, Sina quit school to watch Clareton. She did her best to care for him, but after Grandma died and Grandpa left home, it was more than she could do."
I see Vern in the Nebraska area and unmarried in the 1940 census, nothing after that and haven't located any family members.
Esther Irene Carey 1909-1999
Esther helped to raise Clarence's second set of children, if I understand correctly.
Marvin Eldon Carey 1910-2002
Marvin moved to Portland, Oregon. My dad used to go visit him occasionally. I think. Or maybe that was Gus.
Richard H Carey 1913-1943
Richard died fighting in World War II. He is buried in Carthage, Tunisia. He was a private in the 26th Infantry 1st Division.
Harold E Carey (Beed) 1915
Louis Gustav (Gus) Carey 1916-2007
Gus also lived in or visited Portland at some point, at least this is what my vague childhood memory tells me.
Mable Mae Carey (Beed) 1919
Ida Grace Carey (Rowlette) 1920
Ida Grace or possibly Grace L. Uncertain. Her name may have changed when adopted.
Clareton Lee "Buddy" Carey (Rowlette) 1921
As an adult it appears his name is spelled Clair.
After Florence died, Harold and Mable were adopted by the Beed family. Grace and Buddy were adopted by the Rowlette family. I don't know too much more about them at this point but hope to hear more from Carey cousins in the future.
Notes:
The above excerpt from my father's journal is also published in the book "Journal of a Not-So-Perfect Daughter", Chapter 7 "Twisted Trees". Author Nancy Carver Abbott. Publisher Pacific Press Publishing Association. Originally published 1998. Kindle ebook published 2013.
As mentioned previously, Annis Hubbard and Charles Sholes had one daughter, Florence Octavia Sholes, born on December 31, 1890. I don't know how much time she spent with her biological father. Chances are she didn't know him, but that is conjecture.
- Her parents were married in 1889, and Annis filed for divorce in 1895.
- The divorce papers say that Charles had been gone for more than five years, I think. The handwriting gets really hard to decipher.
- Florence was 6 at the time the divorce was filed.
At age 16 Florence married a 27-year-old from Iowa named Clarence Dean Carey. Don't lose track of Uncle Clarence. He just keeps showing up in this family. We name a Carver boy after him. We marry him, twice. And we have a lot of children with him.
May 1910 – Washington, Knox, Nebraska
The census shows the family living in Washington, Knox, Nebraska.
 |
| 1910; Census Place: Washington, Knox, Nebraska; Roll: T624_849; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 0127; Image: 918; FHL Number: 1374862. |
Name:
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Clarence D Carey
|
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Age in 1910:
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31
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||||||||||
Birth Year:
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1879
|
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Birthplace:
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Iowa
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||||||||||
Home in 1910:
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Washington, Knox, Nebraska
|
||||||||||
Race:
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White
|
||||||||||
Gender:
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Male
|
||||||||||
Relation to Head of House:
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Head
|
||||||||||
Marital Status:
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Married
|
||||||||||
Spouse's Name:
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Florence Carey
|
||||||||||
Father's Birthplace:
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Iowa
|
||||||||||
Mother's Birthplace:
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Germany
|
||||||||||
Household Members:
|
|
||||||||||
Jan 1920 – Mullen, Boyd, Nebraska
By 1920 the family has moved to Mullen, Boyd, Nebraska. This is about 16 miles east of Spencer, where Orland and Annis are living in 1910.
 |
1920; Census Place: Mullen, Boyd, Nebraska; Roll: T625_980;
Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 25; Image: 524.
|
| Name / Age / Birth Year: |
Clarence D Carey / 40 / abt 1880
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Birthplace:
|
Iowa
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Home in 1920:
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Mullen, Boyd, Nebraska
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Race / Gender:
|
White / Male
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Marital Status / Spouse
|
Married / Florence O Carey
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Household Members:
|
|
Sept 1918 – Bristow, Boyd, Nebraska
Per Clarence’s WWI draft registration, the family is in Bristow, Boyd, Nebraska, where Clarence is farming.
May 1921 -- Florence dies in Bristow
I feel like Aunt Florence was probably exhausted all of the time. She had nine kids in 14 years. Shortly after the birth of child number nine, on May 22, 1921, she died of peritonitis.
It must have been very hard for a low-income farmer/laborer with that many children to figure out how to care for them and make a living at the same time. Annis helped, but she was not in good health. Some of the children ended up in foster care or were adopted out.
From Dad's Journal
Here is an excerpt from my father's journal about this family."Florence had died at the age of thirty-three or thirty-four, at the birth of her ninth child. I could scarcely believe it -- nine children in fourteen years.
"Eleven days later, a 1914 Overland full of Careys came to a halt in our driveway. The kids probably didn't pile out according to age; and I'm not too sure whether fourteen-year-old William LaVern was even along. I think he probably came later by bus or train.
"Be that as it may, twelve-year-old Esther was there. A pretty child she was, and almost petite. She had probably been holding the baby during the ride, although ten-year-old Marvin or eight-year-old Richard could have -- or perhaps even seven-year-old Harold. However, it would hardly have been wise to delegate this chore to five-year-old Louis Gustave (Gussy), four-year-old Mabel, or two-year-old Ida Grace, known to us as Gracie.
"Esther and Dick could have passed for twins, had he been big enough. The rest of the family had lighter colored hair -- more on the brownish order -- and it wasn't wavy like Esther's and Dick's. Neither was Vern's. As for that tiny bundle they called "Clareton" (Clareton Lee) I just couldn't tell whom he looked like. I remember well, however, that Clarence, his father, took Clareton from Esther's arms, carried him to my mother, who stood waiting in the doorway of our three-room house, and placed him in her arms.
"'Here Grandma', he said smiling, 'take him. He's yours.'
Dad goes on to explain that between the Carvers and Careys, there were 16 people in a three-room house. Dad and his brother Ashton were already sleeping out back in a tent due to lack of room. The solution? Grandpa and Clarence emptied out the tent and created double bunk beds (full sized beds that several children could cram into at once.)
"Poor Mom! Can you imagine a sick person managing a home with so many children in it? I don't know how she managed to cook for such a gang, even with the help of Esther and Sina. Drainboards? Sinks? Faucets? Not in our house. We simply washed in one dishpan, rinsed in another, and somehow stacked the dishes on the table to drain.
"The family made do like this most of the summer, until Clarence Carey found a house for rent. Eventually the government stepped in and put several of his children in fostor homes, much to his distress. The baby, however, stayed with Grandma.
"When Grandma was hospitalized, Sina quit school to watch Clareton. She did her best to care for him, but after Grandma died and Grandpa left home, it was more than she could do."
I'm not sure of the timing of all of this. Grandma died in 1925 but I don't know when she was hospitalized. Dad's sister Sina Belle Carver would have been about 14 when Florence died and 17 when Annis died. Eventually Sina married Clarence, but that's a story for another time.
The Carey Children
William Lavern (Vern) Carey 1907I see Vern in the Nebraska area and unmarried in the 1940 census, nothing after that and haven't located any family members.
Esther Irene Carey 1909-1999
Esther helped to raise Clarence's second set of children, if I understand correctly.
Marvin Eldon Carey 1910-2002
Marvin moved to Portland, Oregon. My dad used to go visit him occasionally. I think. Or maybe that was Gus.
Richard H Carey 1913-1943
Richard died fighting in World War II. He is buried in Carthage, Tunisia. He was a private in the 26th Infantry 1st Division.
Harold E Carey (Beed) 1915
Louis Gustav (Gus) Carey 1916-2007
Gus also lived in or visited Portland at some point, at least this is what my vague childhood memory tells me.
Mable Mae Carey (Beed) 1919
Ida Grace Carey (Rowlette) 1920
Ida Grace or possibly Grace L. Uncertain. Her name may have changed when adopted.
Clareton Lee "Buddy" Carey (Rowlette) 1921
As an adult it appears his name is spelled Clair.
After Florence died, Harold and Mable were adopted by the Beed family. Grace and Buddy were adopted by the Rowlette family. I don't know too much more about them at this point but hope to hear more from Carey cousins in the future.
Notes:
The above excerpt from my father's journal is also published in the book "Journal of a Not-So-Perfect Daughter", Chapter 7 "Twisted Trees". Author Nancy Carver Abbott. Publisher Pacific Press Publishing Association. Originally published 1998. Kindle ebook published 2013.
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