{"id":885,"date":"2017-07-01T02:29:42","date_gmt":"2017-07-01T02:29:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.familyhistory.bluenotegarden.com\/?p=885"},"modified":"2019-07-18T17:38:25","modified_gmt":"2019-07-18T17:38:25","slug":"dawson-ancestors-and-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/dawson-ancestors-and-family\/","title":{"rendered":"Dawson Ancestors and Family"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-s2irp-eb09f931763c83167ac78899d8990c69\">\n.avia-section.av-s2irp-eb09f931763c83167ac78899d8990c69{\nbackground-repeat:no-repeat;\nbackground-image:url(https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Mary_Featured.jpg);\nbackground-position:0% 0%;\nbackground-attachment:scroll;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div id='av_section_1'  class='avia-section av-s2irp-eb09f931763c83167ac78899d8990c69 main_color avia-section-no-padding avia-no-border-styling  avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_one_full  avia-builder-el-first  avia-full-stretch avia-bg-style-scroll av-minimum-height av-minimum-height-30 av-height-percent  container_wrap sidebar_right'  data-section-bg-repeat='stretch' data-av_minimum_height_pc='30' data-av_min_height_opt='percent'><div class='container av-section-cont-open' ><main  role=\"main\" itemprop=\"mainContentOfPage\"  class='template-page content  av-content-small alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-885'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'><\/div><\/div><\/main><!-- close content main element --><\/div><\/div><div id='after_section_1'  class='main_color av_default_container_wrap container_wrap sidebar_right'  ><div class='container av-section-cont-open' ><div class='template-page content  av-content-small alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-885'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-jsg25-a6f00ab56fbc98e896aad35566185cef\">\n.flex_column.av-jsg25-a6f00ab56fbc98e896aad35566185cef{\nborder-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;\npadding:0px 0px 0px 0px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='flex_column av-jsg25-a6f00ab56fbc98e896aad35566185cef av_one_full  avia-builder-el-1  el_after_av_section  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  first flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding  '     ><p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-7tdjh-47ad1d84461c156b73c24de8da104b25\">\n#top .av-special-heading.av-7tdjh-47ad1d84461c156b73c24de8da104b25{\npadding-bottom:10px;\nfont-size:36px;\n}\nbody .av-special-heading.av-7tdjh-47ad1d84461c156b73c24de8da104b25 .av-special-heading-tag .heading-char{\nfont-size:25px;\n}\n#top #wrap_all .av-special-heading.av-7tdjh-47ad1d84461c156b73c24de8da104b25 .av-special-heading-tag{\nfont-size:36px;\n}\n.av-special-heading.av-7tdjh-47ad1d84461c156b73c24de8da104b25 .av-subheading{\nfont-size:14px;\n}\n\n@media only screen and (min-width: 480px) and (max-width: 767px){ \n#top #wrap_all .av-special-heading.av-7tdjh-47ad1d84461c156b73c24de8da104b25 .av-special-heading-tag{\nfont-size:0.8em;\n}\n}\n\n@media only screen and (max-width: 479px){ \n#top #wrap_all .av-special-heading.av-7tdjh-47ad1d84461c156b73c24de8da104b25 .av-special-heading-tag{\nfont-size:0.8em;\n}\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='av-special-heading av-7tdjh-47ad1d84461c156b73c24de8da104b25 av-special-heading-h3 blockquote classic-quote  avia-builder-el-2  el_before_av_textblock  avia-builder-el-first  av-inherit-size'><h3 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Dawson Ancestors and Family<\/h3><div class='av-subheading av-subheading_below'><p>8 March 2017<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"special-heading-border\"><div class=\"special-heading-inner-border\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-aynh1-f5d8f3913ff9055bd3825c7e9733f4f6 '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock image-border'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p>When our grandmother Mary Margaret Dawson died in January of 1963, our mother Marian Frances Dawson Pepin represented the end of her line, as far as she knew. As the mother of six children at that point, that fact may not have bothered her unduly since she had been an only child all of her life.\u00a0<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Earlier, until Marian\u2019s grandmother Annie Powell Dawson\u2019s death in 1929\u2014when Marian was only 5\u2014her grandmother was the sole survivor of what had been a large family of great grandparents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. To her granddaughter\u2019s knowledge, there were no surviving cousins, despite the fact that all of the family had lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, close by her parents\u2019 home in Willow Grove. Her closest \u201crelatives\u201d in the area were her godparents, Mr and Mrs William Uhlein, of Willow Grove, whom she knew well.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Our mother grew up the center of a charmed family circle where her gentle Irish beauty and good nature must have seemed to our grandparents as the one vital presence in the aftermath of so many family deaths.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Marian_1928_2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-878 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Marian_1928_2-229x343.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"229\" height=\"343\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Marian_1928_2-229x343.jpg 229w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Marian_1928_2-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Marian_1928_2-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Marian_1928_2-1000x1500.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Marian_1928_2-470x705.jpg 470w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Marian_1928_2-450x675.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Marian_1928_2.jpg 1067w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 229px) 100vw, 229px\" \/><\/a>Growing up, we were told that the Dawson and Powell family members had \u201cweak lungs\u201d and that was the reason they had all died young\u2014especially of tuberculosis. Indeed, our mother\u2019s most serious illness in her adult years was a near fatal pulmonary edema or embolism that was inexplicable to her doctors and memorably frightening to those of her young children who were old enough to remember it. But death certificates indicate a number of causes, including heart disease, \u201cLa Grippe\u201d (influenza), arteriosclerosis, and cerebral hemorrhage.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps our mother truly felt alone only when our father died in late 1982\u2014the same year her youngest child, Rita, went off to college, too\u2014but she had a lot of experience on her own from her childhood. Until she moved to Greensboro in 1988 to join Rose and Rita there, she had her longtime position as secretary at Camp Green Cove in Tuxedo, North Carolina, and she continued her interests in music and friends in the community. When I looked through her address book recently, I was surprised by how many people she knew there and kept up with for years afterward.<\/p>\n<p>But she clearly had more time on her hands, for the first time in a very long time, and one of the things she did was to embark on a more in-depth search for both her father\u2019s and her mother\u2019s ancestors. In pre-Internet days, this involved a sheaf of letters and correspondence. Our mother was a master of politely pleading her case for information and assistance by business letter.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Mary_1913_2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-880 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Mary_1913_2-232x343.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"232\" height=\"343\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Mary_1913_2-232x343.jpg 232w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Mary_1913_2-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Mary_1913_2-768x1136.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Mary_1913_2-1014x1500.jpg 1014w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Mary_1913_2-477x705.jpg 477w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Mary_1913_2-450x665.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Mary_1913_2.jpg 1082w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 232px) 100vw, 232px\" \/><\/a>She did a good job and was able to construct a genealogy of both sides of her father\u2019s family back three generations in the United States\u2014all had come from Ireland but she never got to their point of embarkation. There is enough information on the Dawson and Powell ancestors that an online search of additional family in Ireland and in the United States might be more successful today. See <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Dawson_GenealogyTree_1987_1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dawson Genealogy Tree<\/a>. On the other hand, it seems very odd that there are no photographs at all of any of those ancestors.<\/p>\n<p>Our mother had much less success on researching her mother\u2019s side where essentially almost nothing is known about her mother\u2019s father and mother beyond the first name of her mother\u2014Margarita\u2014and the last name of her father\u2014White.<\/p>\n<p>The story was that the mother had died shortly after arriving from Ireland and that the newborn child had been entrusted to a Quaker family to raise on a farm, after which she went into service. There is no written documentation of Mary Margaret until she goes into a Catholic Church to be baptized at the age of 15 on January 1, 1904, with her godmother Anna McCarthy and, later, is married to James Anthony Dawson at the age of 24. On the baptismal and marriage certificates her birth date is given as January 18, 1889 but sometimes our mother said it was January 1.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>It may be that our Grandmother Dawson really was raised by Quakers because that religion does not practice outward sacramental rites such as baptism or communion.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Mary_1910.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-879 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Mary_1910-238x343.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"238\" height=\"343\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Mary_1910-238x343.jpg 238w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Mary_1910-208x300.jpg 208w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Mary_1910-768x1108.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Mary_1910-1040x1500.jpg 1040w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Mary_1910-489x705.jpg 489w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Mary_1910-450x649.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Mary_1910.jpg 1109w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 238px) 100vw, 238px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>However, she could also speak Gaelic and often did so\u2014unlike her husband James who was\u00a0 two generations removed from the Irish language. Frequently mentioned in the stories we heard was the name of the Godmother, Anna McCarthy, so perhaps that is where the Gaelic comes in and perhaps it is Mrs. McCarthy who took her on as help somewhere between the ages of 12 and 15, insisting that she be baptized at that time. Alternative information indicates that the orphaned baby was given to Anna McCarthy directly and that she herself had a farm near Kennett Square. At other times our mother mentioned a foster mother in Chester County, Pennsylvania, followed by her mother going into service at age 12. What we do know is that Mary Margaret was baptized at St. Patrick\u2019s Church, which is in Kennett Square, when she was 15, on January 1, 1904. And then we know that she met James Anthony Dawson, possibly at St Veronica\u2019s Church, where they were married 8 January 1913. Given all of the variant tales and unknowns it is hard to even begin to research where she came from in Ireland\u2014or, even, in Scotland. From time to time our mother would say that the \u201creal\u201d spelling of our grandmother\u2019s last name was \u201cWhyte\u201d which could indicate that her father was from Scotland or England. At one point, she asserts that her mother was not a \u201ccradle\u201d Catholic like her father. The problem is, of course, that we know almost nothing about her cradle of origin.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>With no photographs whatsoever of the Dawson or Powell grandparents or great grandparents, the only scrap of evidence we have of the business James H. Dawson and his sons ran, is a single tattered envelope directed at some point to the New Cathedral Cemetery.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>It includes the partial return address of Jas. Dawson &#038; Son, Established 1870, Roofing and Sheet Metal Work\u2014Phone Connection\u2014Lawrence and Sedgley [illegible] -e., Phila., Pa. Perhaps the handwritten Pil 1398 is an old phone number.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson_JamesHSons_1896_2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-872 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson_JamesHSons_1896_2-603x343.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"603\" height=\"343\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson_JamesHSons_1896_2-603x343.jpg 603w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson_JamesHSons_1896_2-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson_JamesHSons_1896_2-768x437.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson_JamesHSons_1896_2-1500x853.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson_JamesHSons_1896_2-705x401.jpg 705w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson_JamesHSons_1896_2-450x256.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson_JamesHSons_1896_2.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 603px) 100vw, 603px\" \/><\/a>Sedgley, included in the return address above is very close to three addresses that family papers give for the Dawsons in Philadelphia: 310 Erie Avenue and 3535 North 5th Street; 5th and Venango Street is their address on James Anthony\u2019s 1888 birth certificate. These are all in North Philadelphia. St Veronica\u2019s Church is also close to the Erie, 5th Street, Venango, and Sedgley addresses.<\/p>\n<p>Tin roofing is not for the faint of heart. It seems difficult to imagine that James H. Dawson\u2019s sons could have built a successful company when so many of their lives were cut short. Perhaps the brothers and sisters of James H. were more robust and have additional descendants. To have been established in 1870, it is possible that the Irish Dawson-McBride and Powell families came to the United States at the height of the potato famine migration in 1845-1855.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Marian_1925.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-877 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Marian_1925-264x343.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"264\" height=\"343\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Marian_1925-264x343.jpg 264w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Marian_1925-231x300.jpg 231w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Marian_1925-768x997.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Marian_1925-1156x1500.jpg 1156w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Marian_1925-543x705.jpg 543w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Marian_1925-450x584.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-Marian_1925.jpg 1233w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 264px) 100vw, 264px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>We don\u2019t know where the young family of James and Mary may have lived in Philadelphia, but by the time of our mother\u2019s birth in 1924 they were further to the north of the Dawson family addresses in North Philadelphia\u2014in Willow Grove, on Grant Avenue. When his mother died in 1929, James Anthony gave his address as NE New York Rd and Fairhill Ave. On maps today, the closest we can come to that is N York Rd and Fairhill Street.\u00a0 We don\u2019t have a single instance of a more specific or postal address, but the home is described in detail by our mother as a large 4-bedroom Colonial with many upscale features in her writings\u2014see Grandmother\u2019s Memories.<\/p>\n<p>In her memoir For the Love of the Mike, written at age 17 for a senior high school assignment, our mother says that their home on the Old York Road was built by her father in the years 1926-1929. During construction they lived in a garage apartment they had built first to the rear of the property, which was surrounded by fields and woods in all directions, and where she was stricken with, and recovered from, polio and meningitis. Completed in 1929, her grandmother Annie Dawson moved in with them and died late that year, just a month after the Stock Market Crash and start of the Great Depression.<\/p>\n<p>In a 2005 interview, our mother speaks of the struggles her mother had in caring for her mother-in-law in that last year before she died. She had dementia and broke a wrist in a fall. Over and over again grandmother Annie Dawson would unravel the dressing and remove the sling the doctor had given her. Our mother also says that her grandmother told her wonderful stories and she missed her when she was gone. I wish she\u2019d written some of those stories down.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>FOR THE LOVE OF THE \u201cMIKE\u201d\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/kdka95.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-881 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/kdka95.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/kdka95.png 640w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/kdka95-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/kdka95-610x343.png 610w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/kdka95-450x253.png 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/i><\/p>\n<p><em>In a rough garage in Pittsburgh, in the year 1920, station KDKA began the first broadcasting of public entertainment. Just four years later in another part of Pennsylvania, a child was born to the Dawson family. The event took place in Abington Memorial Hospital, Abington, Pennsylvania \u2013 a suburb of Philadelphia. The date was\u00a0 October 10, 1924, and the time was one o\u2019clock in the afternoon.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson_WillowGrovePark_1920s.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-874 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson_WillowGrovePark_1920s.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"256\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson_WillowGrovePark_1920s.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson_WillowGrovePark_1920s-300x192.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Our family did not live in Abington, however, but in the neighboring town of Willow Grove. This small suburban town contained a park that was world famous and dear to the hearts of music lovers for the many concerts held there by the great Victor Herbert, John Philip Sousa, and many others. This was, however, the only glittering feature of Willow Grove.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/SousaProgramCover.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-882 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/SousaProgramCover.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"213\" height=\"328\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/SousaProgramCover.jpg 213w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/SousaProgramCover-195x300.jpg 195w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 213px) 100vw, 213px\" \/><\/a> Otherwise it was simply a quiet, secluded country town where\u00a0 everyone knew everyone else and their entire histories. The center of the village was a scene of continual activity. The farmers from nearby farms coming to buy their seed remained to chat about the fortune of their crops, Willie\u2019s bad cough, or the scandal of Mrs. Brown\u2019s having her hair bobbed. It doesn\u2019t seem possible that this town was only fourteen miles north of the center of Philadelphia \u2013 one of the largest and busiest cities in the United States.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>I started life in a little home on Grant Avenue in this same village. We remained at this residence for two years and then moved to our new home on Old York Road, the highway from Philadelphia to New York. My father built the garage apartment in the rear of the plot of ground and we moved in to await the completion of the colonial house, which was to be built next to the highway.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>While we were living in this garage apartment, I was stricken with infantile paralysis and spinal meningitis. The treatment of this disease required intricate care and it was only through God\u2019s will, the treatment of a young German doctor, and the constant care of my mother, that I recovered without any ill effects. A daily column in the Philadelphia papers was written concerning my illness, and its daily developments. So strange was the event of having these two illnesses at the same time, the specialists from far and near visited me and studied my case. I remained in a coma for several days during which time our parish priest placed a relic of Saint Theresa the \u201cLittle Flower,\u201d on me and prayed for my recovery. Upon my awakening from my coma, I said to my mother, \u201cSee, mama, \u2018Little Flower\u2019 made me better.\u201d The only explanation that the priest had for this utterance was that the Saint appeared to me while I was unconscious. Ever since this time, in deep gratitude to Saint Theresa as well as to our Lord, the \u201cLittle Flower\u201d has been my patron Saint.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Upon the completion of our colonial house, in 1929, we moved from the apartment into the house. The same year my grandmother, who was living with us, died. This was a great blow to me as I used to wait on her and tend to her minor wants. I missed the stories she used to tell me. The following June we took a trip to Canada as my mother was very tired from caring for my grandmother. This was one of the most delightful trips that I can remember. Our family has always been fond of traveling. The beauty of the New England country with its swift streams, rolling hills and good food has remained fast in my memory. I also believe that the beauty of Canada, and especially the cities of Montreal and Quebec, are unsurpassed.<\/em> <i>\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-James_Cousin_1934.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-875 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-James_Cousin_1934-238x343.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"238\" height=\"343\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-James_Cousin_1934-238x343.jpg 238w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-James_Cousin_1934-208x300.jpg 208w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-James_Cousin_1934-768x1109.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-James_Cousin_1934-1039x1500.jpg 1039w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-James_Cousin_1934-488x705.jpg 488w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-James_Cousin_1934-450x650.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-James_Cousin_1934.jpg 1108w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 238px) 100vw, 238px\" \/><\/a>Most of the mail we have in family records went to their address in St. Petersburg, Florida, where the family lived during the winter, returning to Willow Grove in the summer, beginning in 1931, when she was 7 years old. As our mother notes in her writings, the travel back and forth\u2014recommended by his doctors for James Anthony\u2019s health\u2014made for a disjointed schooling,\u00a0 especially in the grade school years. On several occasions she was put back and then put forward again as she caught up.<\/p>\n<p>In September of 1934, our mother reports that they brought along \u201cmy father\u2019s cousin\u201d for their annual stay while she was in 5th grade. Marian\u2019s father is on the left of the photograph at right. There does appear to be some family resemblance with the man to his left and perhaps that is the cousin she refers to. Unfortunately, she does not mention his name, neither here nor when she later mentions that he dies suddenly in March of the following year. They leave early from St. Petersburg to go back to Philadelphia for the funeral.<\/p>\n<p>In 1937 her father sold the Willow Grove property and they moved to St Petersburg, lodging at first at the Heaven\u2019s Delight Apartments, at 5th Avenue and 3rd Street South. The next year they moved all their furniture down from Philadelphia and bought a home at 1916 10th Street South to live there year \u2018round. There is also\u2014on our mother\u2019s sheet music in 1940\u2014the address of 1445 10th Street South but perhaps that was a teacher\u2019s address.<\/p>\n<p>In 1942 James Anthony entered the Bay Pines VA Hospital for treatment due to his worsening health and the family prepared to go back to Philadelphia. Marian and her family may have thought that job prospects for their newly graduated daughter might have been better up North\u2014particularly since she sought a career in radio and music\u2014but the job search proved very disappointing.<\/p>\n<p>The next couple of years were disheartening and very sad\u2014James Anthony was moved up to the VA Hospital in Oteen, NC, near Asheville, and then moved back again to the Bay Pines VA in St Petersburg, with no improvement. Friends in Florida alerted our mother and grandmother that James Anthony\u2019s condition was worsening and he was brought up to live with them at 5901 Lawndale Street in Philadelphia in their small, second-floor apartment, during a sweltering summer, where he died on 27 August 1944 at age 56. Dr. George J Rilling of 5752 Rising Sun Ave\u2014yet another address near the old Jas. Dawson &#038; Sons location on Sedgley\u2014was the attending physician. Perhaps he was a family acquaintance.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The best account of these wartime years is, of course, written by our mother in her For the Love of the \u201cMike\u201d:<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><em><i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson_BayPines_1940.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-871 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson_BayPines_1940.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"294\" height=\"196\" \/><\/a><\/i>On August 6, [1942] my father decided to go to Bay Pines hospital for treatment. He had been suffering with a rupture for a long time and had been putting off going to the hospital. After two weeks of examinations and tests, the doctors have decided that he is terribly run down and that his lung ailment needs more immediate attention. Consequently, they have decided to transfer him to the veteran\u2019s hospital at Oteen, North Carolina, as the climate is better for his ailment.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson_VA_-Oteen_1940.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-873 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson_VA_-Oteen_1940.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"189\" \/><\/a>During the entire summer, we have been planning to go to Philadelphia in the Fall so that I may\u00a0 go on with my career. Since my father has gone to the hospital my mother and I have been carrying on the planning and preparation for this trip. We have partially renovated both the inside and outside of the house so that we may rent it in the Fall. Our car must be sold along with a few more of our possessions. When all of these things are taken care of, we will be free to make the trip.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The time seemed endless as Mama and I were waiting to make our journey north. The day finally came, however, and we were on our way. Of all months in the year to pick to head northward we picked January. A normal person would of course come south. We travelled by Greyhound bus (that was the most economical) and planned a stop over in Asheville, North Carolina, to visit my father at the hospital at Oteen. The trip to Asheville was uneventful and the weather proceeded to get cooler as we got further north. It was a very raw and chilly day that we arrived in Asheville and my father was at the bus terminal to meet us. He of course was very pleased to see us once more; it had been such a long time. We found rooms in a private house near the hospital (Oteen is outside Asheville), which was very comfortable and warm. It belonged to a Mrs. Beazley whose husband worked in the hospital. He has since gone into the Army for the second time as he was in the First World War and her son has also been drafted. Her son was leaving while we were there and he felt very badly about going. During our three day stay the weather was cold and raw and it snowed on and off the entire time. The hospital was bleak and dreary and the weather didn\u2019t help any. We went into Asheville and looked around, and I happened to think of John Rhodes whom I have mentioned earlier in this autobiography, and thought of looking him up.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/BonMarche_1940.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-870 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/BonMarche_1940-651x343.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"651\" height=\"343\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/BonMarche_1940-651x343.jpg 651w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/BonMarche_1940-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/BonMarche_1940-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/BonMarche_1940-1500x790.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/BonMarche_1940-710x375.jpg 710w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/BonMarche_1940-705x371.jpg 705w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/BonMarche_1940-450x237.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/BonMarche_1940.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 651px) 100vw, 651px\" \/><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>I remembered the name of the hotel at which he used to work so went\u00a0 there and inquired about him and where he was at the present time. The clerk was a very good friend of the family and said that John had been in the Army but had an appendicitis operation and was sent home to recuperate and was now working at the \u201cBon Marche\u201d in Asheville.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>I promptly went to the \u201cBon Marche\u201d and asked for John. (We had corresponded for so long but had never seen one another.) He of course didn\u2019t know me and when I introduced myself he was so surprised. I told him I was on my way north and gave him my godmother\u2019s address. He promised to write which he did later. Had a nice little chat then said good-bye.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Also visited the Radio Station (cannot remember the call letters) and had a nice chat with the announcers and the girl control engineer. (I had no technical knowledge at that time.) Told them I was going to try at WIP in Philadelphia. They wished me luck and a nice trip.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Left Asheville on Monday morning and it was still bleak and cold. Had a very nice crowd on the bus they were always cracking jokes. The trip was beautiful from there up as we went through the Shenandoah valley. The mountains were ablaze with all the fall and winter colors, and peaked with snow. Were wishing we could stop at Harrisonburg, Virginia, at friends the Argenbright\u2019s but it would mean an extra stop-over and extra money which we had very limited amount of. An amusing incident happened around Harrisonburg. It was early morning and every one had been sleeping on and off throughout the night (except Mama who slept on and off day and night) and were rather groggy. We were nearing a bus station and the bus gave a swerve around a corner. Mama always carried a brown \u201ccarry-all\u201d bag with everything imaginable in it and had it on the floor beside her. She was sitting across the aisle from me, as we couldn\u2019t find two seats together at that time. The man next to her (next to the aisle) was asleep and had his shoes off, so when the bus swerved Mama\u2019s Carry-all bag swerved too and spilled out on the floor. Spoons bottle openers and atomizers were thrown on the floor and in her haste to pick them up she put (in the very bottom of the bag) the man\u2019s shoes. It was rather embarrassing trying to explain how she did that!<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Cold and tired and decidedly dirty we arrived at Philadelphia. Went to Broad Street Station and phoned the Uhlein\u2019s. There was no one home as it was early in the afternoon and they had not arrived home from work yet. So, we sat and sat some more. Finally called and they were home. Boarded an Easton bus and went out to Willow Grove.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Received a warm welcome from the Uhlein\u2019s and were certainly glad to get cleaned up after our long trip. Met Larue, Adrian\u2019s wife, for the first time and liked her immediately . . .<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-JamesAnthony_1942.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-876 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-JamesAnthony_1942-230x343.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"230\" height=\"343\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-JamesAnthony_1942-230x343.jpg 230w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-JamesAnthony_1942-201x300.jpg 201w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-JamesAnthony_1942-768x1147.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-JamesAnthony_1942-1004x1500.jpg 1004w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-JamesAnthony_1942-472x705.jpg 472w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-JamesAnthony_1942-450x672.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Dawson-JamesAnthony_1942.jpg 1071w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 230px) 100vw, 230px\" \/><\/a>My mother and I began to get letters [the next year, in 1943] from Florida friends saying that my father\u2019s health was bad and he looked as if he was not improving. He remained in Florida for the remainder of the winter however and in June came up to us again. We were both shocked to see him as he had failed so very much and was only a shadow of his former self. He was sick almost from the moment he landed here and about three weeks later became so sick that he was bedridden .The doctors couldn\u2019t help him and he was very miserable as we were in a second floor apartment and the heat was unbearable, even for a well person. His health kept failing and he was getting weaker seemingly by the minute, and on August 27<sup>th<\/sup> he passed away.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Now there is only Mama and I. The funeral is over and we are at present waiting for her compensation to come through and several things to straighten themselves out so we may be more settled. We are hoping to find a little apartment down in the city where it will be more convenient for my work and to get into the center city. We cannot make any move just now for all the money is tied up and will just have to wait until things start to come through on her compensation.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/section><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":878,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dawson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=885"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1724,"href":"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/885\/revisions\/1724"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}