A Step Back

Mary Elizabeth Darby Wainright pictured with her six grandchildren.
Clockwise from the lower left are:  Mary Olive Hutchinson, Charles "Fred" Jones, Mary "Edith" Jones, Leslie T. Hutchinson, Thomas Harvey Hutchinson, and Leo Wainright Jones.

In Jones Family Matters, I have discussed in detail research that I did on Charles H., Rachel, and Charles' second wife, Alwilda Collins.  I've linked some of the posts. You can search by their names on the Jones Family Matters blog for more information.  But I did not fully understand the role of Rachel's mother, Mary Elizabeth Wainright Darby, my gg-grandmother. (More information is available in Jones Family Matters).

I knew that Mary Elizabeth lived with Charles, her daughter Rachel and their three children on Gladstone.  Since Rachel had consumption (tuberculosis), I'm sure that she played a major role in raising the three children. What I didn't realize was that after Rachel's death in 1892, Mary Elizabeth continued living with the children until Charles remarried Alwilda, 16 years his junior, on December 26, 1898.  Since the household wasn't big enough for two women to run, Mary Elizabeth moved out.  However, she didn't move far.

By reviewing the Cincinnati City Directories, I discovered that Mary Elizabeth moved around the corner into her own home at 405 Collins.  She continued to live there for about eight years until about 1906.  The City Directory for 1908 has her listed as 432 Shillito.  By the 1910 Census, she was living with her granddaughter, Edith Jones Hodges, in Clermont Co.

I searched out the location of Mary Elizabeth's home located at 405 Collins.  As seems to be my luck, the property was purchased for green space as part of the Columbia Towers Condos located up the hill from what had been her property.  The house on either side are still standing. Here is a picture of the front steps:

Front Steps of 405 Collins Ave.

Barge Traffic on the Ohio River from Collins Ave.
 Note railroad tracks just behind the "arrow" sign.  Gladstone Ave. is off to the left.

Since my Aunt Margaret Ann's notes mention that my grandfather (Charles Fred Jones) ran away to be a cabin boy on a boat at the age of about 14, I can't help but think about the impact that his father's remarriage had on him.  Thankfully, his grandmother was never far away.

What I Know

I know that my great-grandparents, Charles H. and Rachel Jones, married at Emanuel Protestant Episcopal Church on January 25, 1882.  On June 16, 1882, Charles and Rachel purchased the two-family duplex that would eventually be known as 2314 and 2316 Gladstone.  This was probably a good move because Rachel was pregnant with Mary Edith who would be born on October 29, 1882.  Charles was 32 and Rachel was 31 when Edith was born.

I've written extensively about Rachel because I've found her story to be so fascinating.  She was the daughter of Britton Wainright and Mary Elizabeth Darby.  You can read all about the challenges her family faced following the death of her father while marching to confront John Hunt Morgan of Morgan's Raiders here and here.

Lillian's letter described Rachel this way:

Rachel was a very refined, intelligent woman who was slightly crippled, I think, walking with a little limp. Her health was delicate and she died early. Charles Jones remarried, but his second wife was not a good mother to her stepchildren, mother said. Charles was a kind man, very easy-going, but the children needed Rachel's guidance. Had she lived she would have insisted on a good education for Fred, Leo, and Edith.

Rachel developed what was then described as "consumption," now known as tuberculosis.  From Census documents I know that Rachel's mother, Mary Elizabeth Darby Wainright, lived with the family and assisted in the raising of the children.

 Cincinnati Birth and Death Records, 1865 -1912

It had to be a difficult time for the entire family.  In the ten years that Charles and Rachel were married they had three children, she was suffering from tuberculosis and Charles was trying to support a family of five plus his mother-in-law.  I wonder if Rachel was consoled at all by the view of the Ohio River from their home.  

Mary Edith, Leo, and Fred

Since Edith was 10, Fred was 8 and Leo was 5 at the time of their mother's death, I have to assume that this picture was taken close to the time of their mother's death.  Recent research has enabled me to get a much better picture of how this family was able to move forward after Rachel's death.

Note:  I want to acknowledge the contribution of Betty Arnett, granddaughter of Edith pictured above.  Although we've never met, Betty had these and other PRECIOUS pictures in her possession and graciously shared them with me.  Her mother had saved them in a box. Fortunately for all of us, they were labeled.  I will be forever grateful.  You can read about "Betty's Box" by searching for it in http://Jonesfamilymatters.blogspot.com