Chuck Jones and Ivy Hansen Taken by Mike & Louanne Jones in the Stanwood Historical Museum
What follows is the summary of a reply from Ivy Hansen of Florence, the small island in the delta of the Stillaguamish River, near Stanwood, Washington, wrote to Molly McGinnis Wright, a McGinnis cousin in the Newberg, Oregon area. Molly had written Ivy in early 2008 asking what she may remember about the McGinnis families during the early history of Florence. A few weeks later Ivy graciously replied.
Ivy is the wife of Howard Hansen, now deceased. Howard was raised on a small farm along the river road to the west of the McGinnis farm and the lives of the families intertwined over the years. The Hansen farm was adjacent to the Hall or Jorgensen acres probably less than half a mile from where our Mother, Mary Agnes McGinnis was born and raised. Howard was also a member of St. Cecelia’s parish in Stanwood and remained a good friend of the McGinnis clan for many years.
Howard and Ivy married sometime in the late in the 1940’s and I have but a vague recall of Ivy. Howard I remember very well.
Molly wrote Ivy inquiring on various family history questions she had primarily regarding her own Grandfather, our beloved Uncle Tom. Molly’s summary follows:
Ivy said she never met Grandpa Tom and Grandma Marie that she could recall, unfortunately. She did have a few memories of Uncle Jim, Uncle John and your mother, however.
Here's what she said about Uncles Jim & John:
"They lived together on the small family farm until they had a disagreement; then Jim moved to town where he worked as a bartender at Stanwood Hotel & Tavern. (It is still a thriving business). Though John lived very near, I seldom saw him; I was very busy as I had 6 children and didn't get out much. I do remember that he served on the grand jury in Seattle. He would get dressed up, walk to town (about 1 1/2 miles) and take the bus to Seattle. I admired him for making the effort, when he must have been in his sixties."
Do you know what the disagreement may have been she was talking about? I asked my Mom and she thought it may have been Jim's drinking.
Here's what Ivy had to say about your Mom:
"Aggie spent summers at John's farm along with her two youngest children. Charlie worked at the Bremerton Navy yard and came up weekends. In the depths of the depression, Juanita and Franklin went to Florence school for a few months where I went through 8 grades. Maybe their dad was temporarily unemployed (I'm guessing)."
I then asked about Gertrude Hall Jorgensen and her children. Here's what she had to say:
"Marie [Marie was the oldest Jorgensen child. She was the daughter of next door cousin Gertrude Donahue Hall, later Jorgensen] was my 2 year older sister's friend and I went with her to visit Marie. I'm sure I was quite young at the time. I took my sweater off in the house and laid it on the front room table. Mrs. Jorgensen [Gertrude Donahue Hall] came rushing from the kitchen and swept my sweater off the table with her hand. I was so scared by her action that I started to cry. Marie said, "Don't worry, she won't hurt you.". Did you know that Mrs. J. was insane? It started before Myrtle [Marie's sister] was born (Molly note: Myrtle was born in Dec 1929 according to census), so the children had a difficult early life. Andy was in the Army in WW2 and lived in Seattle afterward. I heard he was a dance instructor at a studio. Marie married and had 2 sons; she lived in Florence until she died suddenly at 55. Myrtle moved to the S. Oregon coast soon after she married. She had 2 daughters and a son. I didn't see her again until the kids were adults. She said the girls worked their way thru the U of O by modeling clothes. They must have been tall and slim like Myrtle was."
[I have very warm memories of Marie. Whenever Mom came to the farm in the summer Marie always stopped by to visit].
So, here's another story about poor Gertrude's problems. What a sad life she must have lead with no professional help available at the time.Since I wasn't sure exactly how old Ivy was, I asked if she remembered anything about Mary Ellen or [sister]Catherine, or Catherine's husband, Hugh.
Here's what she said:
"No, she knew nothing of them. I was born in 1923; we moved to Florence in 1930. As a child in depression years I walked to Stanwood at times to movies or on errands for my Mom. I had to walk past "Catholic Row"; 5 houses, so I knew who the McGinnis's and Mills's were. Also, Mrs. Estella Hansen's who became my mother-in-law."
Now, I'm assuming these 5 house of "Catholic Row" (what Alice Koffel said she remembered as being called "Irish Town) would have been James McGinnis, Hugh McGinnes, Mary Mills (old Ferguson place), James Hall/Jorgensen place, and the Hansen place. Is that how you read that? When I look at the 1930 census, you see these five residences listed all in a row. Do you think it is worth a try for me to send her some copies of the photos from say, pages 14, 17, 18 to see if she might be able to identify some of them? I'm pretty sure about Tom Hall, Tom McGinnes, Hugh, Jr. & Arthur but she might be able to identify some of the others even though she would have known them from a much later time. Since they were so close with their neighbors, she might be able to say if that's who some of these fellows are since we can't really identify them as relatives. Let me know what you think.
I then asked her about Hugh and Catherine's children and what she remembered about [Cousin] Tom McGinnes:
"My dad served with Tom in the army in WWI. They were sent east to Hoboken, NJ but armistice was declared then. Tom played baseball with the Florence team when he was young. They had uniforms and played against other teams (I've seen pictures). He planted a vegetable garden, but not until July 4; said it caught up with our garden planted a month earlier. He helped my husband with haying. Tom had no teeth and I tried to cook a noon dinner that he could "gum".
"He salvaged floating logs from the Stillaguamish river (out front, and across the road). He made them into a raft or boom and sold them."
About Marguerite McGinnes Garrison:
"I never saw Marguerite. I heard she worked at a Bartell store in Seattle. Her son, Bob, came to live with his uncle Tom when he was about 16; attended and graduated from Stanwood High School. I believe he remained in this area but I never saw him. His brother, Art also moved to Florence and lived with another man. I think he was helpful to Tom in his old age."
About Alice McGinnes Koffel:
"I saw her once, a pretty, and friendly lady. My brother-in-law knew the Koffels. When he was a young man in the Mount Vernon farming area, he knew the family. Alice and daughters would bake a cake, make sandwiches and invite him and other friends in. He had very good memories of that time."
Gosh, my years of corresponding with Alice sound just like what she described. She was so open and friendly and very giving. Such a sweetheart....About Arthur McGinnes:
"He, his wife and 2 daughters [Mary Catherine and Rosemary] were neighbors in the late 30's. I baby sat a few times at their house. They moved to Mount Vernon; later to Everettt where Art worked at Everett Plywood. My parents visited them as they got older."
I then moved on to the Mills family--Mary and Charlie. I loved her initial response. Read on....
"They did not inherit the McGinnis good looks, but were so jolly and smiling. Mary was a long time friend of my mother-in-law. She told me that before she came west she worked in wealthy homes in Boston, which was a train ride south of her home town. I can't remember whether she lived in the U.S. or Canada. She made strong tea. They had no car and on Memorial Day I would take her to the Florence cemetery where she tended the graves of her uncle Bob Ferguson and his father (her grandpa?)."
Okay, so they weren't as handsome as the McGinnis's....what a hoot! However, wasn't it interesting about the fact that she had gone to Boston to work as a domestic in homes in Boston before coming to Florence? I tried seeing if I could find anything in the U.S. for 1900 for Mary, but I couldn't find anyone I thought might be her. She wasn't at home in Chatham in 1901 and I think the 1910 census said she immigrated in 1902 (but it was pretty hard to read), so I tried 1900 just to see if I could find her.Lastly, I asked if she ever recalled any relatives or friends that came to visit the McGinnis/Jorgensen/Mills families from Seatlle and she said she had no recollection of any.So.....that's it. Not a huge amount of info but some nice memories and stories as well as a few insights. I noticed that Ivy's mother-in-law was born in Wisconsin so I'm going to to a bit of digging to see if her parents, the Carlsen's, had some connection to the Donahue's back in Wisconsin. I'll let you know. Drop me a line when you can.
Molly
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