John Calvin Truby - part 1

John Calvin Truby
born:  9 June 1850 - Cranberry Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania
died:  3 Oct 1920 - Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio


1850 - 1900

Ula Truby's father was John Calvin Truby.  John was the son of David Truby and Mary Bortz.  He was born in Cranberry Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania on June 9, 1850 and appears on the 1850 census as a one-month-old infant in that township. 

The 1850 census was only supposed to show people who were living in the home on June 1, 1850, but obviously the enumerator listed the people who were in the home on the day he actually took the census.  Unfortunately, he also failed to record the date he physically took the census as well, although we can assume that it was within the months of June or July.

 

John's obituary states he was born in Centerville which is the former name of Fertigs where Ula was born.  However, Centerville/Fertigs is in Pinegrove Twp.  Since David and Mary were living in Cranberry Twp within one month of when John was born, I'm inclined to believe that he was actually born in Cranberry Twp and not in Centerville. 

 

It will also be noted that on the 1850 census, John is enumerated with the Brandon-Moorhead family which lives next to David and Mary Truby.  It is possible that Mary had some kind of complications from her delivery and the neighbor took John home to care for him there.  The census enumerates people in the household in which they are living on the day of the census and not necessarily with their family.  I haven't found any indication that the Brandons or the Moorheads were relatives to the Trubys in that time period.

On June 1, 1860, the census shows  10-year-old John living with his parents in Hickory Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania.  Also living with them are his siblings: Jane, Sarah, Ann and Mary E.

 

 

On June 1, 1870, John is 20 years old and still living with his parents.  They are living within the Porterfield Post Office district of Cranberry Township, Venango County and John is working as a laborer.  The household consists of David and Mary as well as John and his siblings: Sarah E, Ann M, Mary E, Ellen, Etta H, Magga and Laura (who is six months old).

 

 

June 1, 1880 still finds John and his parents in Cranberry Twp, Venango Co PA.  John, 30 and single, is working as a laborer but he was unemployed for 9 months during the census year.  Also in the home are John's siblings:  Maria, Henrietta, Margaret and Clara. 

 

 

John married Henrietta Karnes, daughter of Jacob Karnes and Frances "Fanny" Stewart about 1881.  To date, I haven't found documentation of their marriage, but it most certainly took place in Venango County. 

They were living in Pennsylvania on Jan 28, 1882 when Emmett Andrew was born and in Warren, Warren Co PA when Hazel O was born on Nov 27, 1887.  By Apr 1, 1889, the family had moved to Fertigs, Venango Co PA where Eula Jacob was born.  Fern A was born on Apr 1, 1892 supposedly in Oil City, but most likely in Fertigs.  Lyman Irvin was born June 16, 1894 in Warren Co PA.  Gilbert K and Mabel Inez were most likely twins as Gilbert's marker indicates he was born in 1897 and Mabel was born on Aug 30, 1897 in Ohio.  As you can see, the family moved around quite a bit.

 

Again, the 1890 census was burned in a fire and was almost completely destroyed.

 

 

 

Ula and Ethel Truby - part 4

1942-1950

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941, the US entered into World War II.  As previously mentioned, in March of 1942, Ula obtained a Delayed Record of Birth in order to register for the World War II Draft.  I found it amusing that while Ula used his birth name of "Jacob Eula", he continued to use "Oil City" as his place of birth even though he was actually born in Fertigs. He is working as a self-employed carpenter.  Those of you who are younger will get a kick out of his telephone number - "TA-0084".  Does anyone remember what the "TA" stood for?  Talbot perhaps????  That isn't an exchange I remember.

Needless to say, Ula was never drafted for the war.

 

I have no further documentation of what went on in Ula's life until his death on 18 Feb 1950 in Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio.  He died in his home at 1427 Emerson St after suffering a cerebral vascular accident about one week earlier.  This was brought on as a result of arteriosclerosis.  You will probably notice throughout my posts, that heart disease in some form or other is rather prevalent in our family. 

 

 

Toledo Blade - Feb 19, 1950

(I was that "one great-grandchild")

 

 

Below are two pages from Ula's funeral book.  Unfortunately, I don't have copies of the remainder of the book.  If anyone has copies of the guest pages, we would love to see them.

 

 

 

 

Ula is buried at Lake Township Cemetery in Walbridge, Wood County, Ohio, section G row 12 marker 29 grave 2.

 

Below are the only two photos I have of Ula.  The one of Ula and Ethel may have been taken on the occasion of their 25th wedding anniversary which would have been in 1933.  The other, of Ula on a bicycle, I believe was probably taken at a family reunion during the 1940's.  If anyone knows for sure when these photos were taken or has other photos they would like to share, please contact me.

 

 

 









At this point, rather than continue on with Ethel's life, I am going to continue to go back in time with the Truby side of the family.  When I have finished with the paternal lines, I will pick up again with Ethel's side and then on to the descendants of Ula and Ethel after that. 

Ula and Ethel Truby - part 3

1940

 

Somewhere between the birth of Betty Jane in August, 1923 and the birth of Nora Lee in August, 1925, Ula and Ethel moved back to Toledo.  The 1940 census finds them residing at 1427 Emerson St.  Some of our older cousins will remember visiting them in this house.

 

When the census was taken on Apr 1, 1940, Ula owns his home which is valued at $2,400.  The family lived in the same house on Apr 1, 1935 (a question asked to ascertain the mobility/migration of American families).  Ula is 52 years old and has completed the 7th grade.  (This is the only census to specifically ask the highest grade completed by individuals.)  He is employed as a carpenter in a building construction project and is "employed by the Government" but was not working during the week of Mar 24-30, 1940.  Ula worked 38 weeks during 1939 earning a total of $828 (an average of $21.79 per week, approximately $94.35 per month) with no other source of income.

 

This means he was most likely employed by the WPA (Works Progress Administration) which built the buildings in the Toledo Zoo and the retaining walls in Walbridge Park.  This agency was part of President Franklin D Roosevelt's "New Deal" which was signed into law on Apr 8, 1935.  The program was a result of the significant unemployment due to the Great Depression and was meant to be the route to economic recovery and the lessened importance of the dole.  It created jobs and was meant to provide dignity to those skilled workers who were out of work for a long period of time.

 

In order to be eligible for WPA employment, an individual had to be an American citizen who was 18 or older, able-bodied, unemployed, and certified as in need by a local public relief agency approved by the WPA. The WPA Division of Employment selected the worker's placement to WPA projects based on previous experience or training. Worker pay was based on three factors: the region of the country, the degree of urbanization, and the individual's skill. It varied from $19 per month to $94 per month, with the average wage being about $52.50 ($884.00 in present-day terms).  The WPA ceased operation on June 30, 1943 as the Great Depression had ended and unemployment had dropped tremendously due to the creation of thousands of jobs associated with World War II.

 

If anyone knows for sure what projects Ula worked on, please email me so we can share a little more about this time in his life.

 

Going back to the 1940 census, Ethel was 48 years old and had completed the 7th grade.  Nina was 18 and had completed two years of high school.  She was working as a waitress in a restaurant.  Nina worked 48 hours the week of Mar 24-30, 1940.  During 1939 she had worked 13 weeks earning a total of $52 with no other source of income (an average of $4.00 per week).  Betty was 16 years old, attended school and had completed her sophomore year of high school.  Nora, who was 14 years old, attended school and had completed the 8th grade.

 

It should be noted that it was typical for children of Ula and Ethel's generation to end their education while still in grade school in order to help provide for the support of the family.  You'll note that the children of their generation were likely to have at least some high school education.  Completing four years of high school was more likely attained by the grandchildren of Eula and Ethel's generation with only a small number of that generation going to college.  Today, we tend to take our education for granted, but we should remember that each generation before us strove to make life better for their children, to get us where we are now.



1427 Emerson - photo taken in 2006

Ula and Ethel Truby - part 2

1925-1930

Prohibition in the United States began in January 1920 with the 18th Amendment to the Constitution which made the manufacture, transport or sale of alcohol illegal.  It is interesting to note that it was not, however, illegal to consume alcohol during that time period.  Ultimately, in December 1933, the 21st amendment repealed prohibition and gave the individual states the right to set their own laws for the control of alcohol.

During prohibition, Ula became a "bootlegger" of sorts.  It is important to remember that during prohibition just about everyone was involved, in one way or another, in bootlegging.  They either made it, sold it or bought it.  Ula was a "proprietor of a drink parlor" (tavern) at 921 Buckeye St in Toledo when he was arrested and fined in January 1927 for "teaching [his] son to sell booze".

When I discovered the following newspaper article, Dalton was upset because he had never told anyone, including his wife, about his arrest.  I kept the article private until after Dalton's death and then discussed this with his son, Dale.  Dale spoke with his children and ultimately they decided that it would be okay to share this story with everyone as, ultimately, it is part of what made Dalton the man that he was.  Dale also felt that it helped to explain some of Dalton's beliefs.

Apparently this experience was enough to send Ula back to the building trades as the Toledo City Directories of 1928 and 1929 show him to be a carpenter.  You will note that the 1929 directory also shows that Ula and Ethel have moved back to Walbridge OH.

1928

 

Photo of house at 1973 Erie St taken in 1937

 

1929

 

The census of Apr 1, 1930 finds Ula and Ethel living in Lake Township, Wood County, Ohio (most likely still in Walbridge), where they rent their home for $25.00 per month.  They did not own a radio which was a question asked on the census to help identify the "status" of the families enumerated.  Remember, that this was at the start of the Great Depression which began with the stock market crash of Oct 29, 1929 (known as Black Tuesday).

 

It is worth mentioning that Ula and Ethel have told the census taker that they were married at the ages of 19 and 16, giving further proof that they had lied about their ages when they ran away to get married in Detroit.

 

Ula is a carpenter in the building industry, Norman is a printer in a print shop, Henrietta is married to George Gray (however, he appears to not be living with the Truby family at this time).  Walter, Lillian, Nina, and Betty attended school.

 

 

 

 

 

Ula and Ethel Truby - part 1

1908-1925

Ula Jacob Truby and Ethel Dora Burns were married on Thursday, May 28, 1908 in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan.  Witnesses to their marriage were Ula's sister, Fern Truby, and her future husband, Thomas Elijah Ashton.

After their marriage they returned to Gibsonburg where "Ulah" was employed as a sawyer.  Ula and Ethel lived on the north side of West Stone Street in a house with his sister, Mabel, and brother, Lyman.  Ula's parents, John and Henrietta Truby lived on the south side of West Stone Street in a house with Ula's sister, Hazel, and brother, Emmett.  This was recorded in the Gibsonburg OH Directory of 1909 as shown below.

 

While Ula and Ethel were living in Gibsonburg, their first child, Dalton Edward, was born on Apr 19, 1909.  However, by the time the census was taken as of Apr 15, 1910, the family had moved to Denison Township, Lawrence County, Illinois.  They owned their home, free of mortgage, and Ula was working as a roustabout in the oil fields. 

For some unknown reason the family moved back to Ohio between April and November, 1910 as Ula and Ethel became the parents of Norman Burns Truby on Nov 29, 1910 in Gibsonburg.  Perhaps Ethel wanted to be with her family during her pregnancy or opportunities for work were not plentiful.  The family stayed in Gibsonburg at least through Feb 13, 1913 when my grandmother, Henrietta Ada, was born.  Somewhere between Henrietta's birth in 1913 and the birth of Walter Ellis Truby on Aug 10, 1915, Ula and Ethel moved to Tiffin, Seneca County, Ohio. 

On June 5, 1918, Ula registered for the World War I draft.  At the time, the family was living at 150 Mohawk in Tiffin.  Ula was employed as a yard foreman at the Sterling Lumber Co.  His physical description was shown to be medium height, medium build, gray eyes and dark brown hair.  Below is a copy of his draft registration and a present day photo of the house at 150 Mohawk.

 

Lillian Alice was born May 19, 1919 in Tiffin.  I don't know if it was in the house on Mohawk or the house at 38 Liberty St where the family was living on Jan 1, 1920 when the census was taken.  Ula and Ethel were renting their house on Liberty St.  He was working as a laborer in a truck factory.  Dalton, Norman and Henrietta were attending school.

Below is a present day photo of the house at 38 Liberty St.  The first time I saw this house back in the late 1980's it had not yet been fixed up.  It previously had gray shingle siding but, as can be seen, someone has lovingly restored the house by replacing the tin roof and shingles as well as giving the trim a new coat of paint.

Nina Ardella was born on Oct 30, 1921, possibly in this house.  The Tiffin City Directory of 1920-1921 indicates that the family is still living at 38 Liberty St and Ula is employed as an overseer at the Tiffin Wagon Works where his father is also employed.

 

 

The 1922 Tiffin City Directory shows Ula is now a yard foreman at Slagle Lumber Co and that the family has moved to 132 River St.  Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of that home, but  that may be where Betty Jane was born on Aug 18, 1923. 

By the time Nora Lee is born on Aug 12, 1925, the family has moved to Toledo.
 

Jacob Eula Truby part 2

Continuing on with the story of Ula Truby...

He was born in Fertigs PA on Apr 1, 1889.  The first record we find for Ula is the 1900 census taken as of June 1, 1900 since the 1890 census was lost in a fire.  He is living with his parents, John and Henrietta, in Madison Township, Sandusky County, Ohio. 

"Eula J" is 11 years old and did not attend school, instead working as a day laborer.  This is not uncommon during the time period as children left school early and needed to help support the family.

In 1905, "Eula" again appears with his family in the Rural Directory for Sandusky County OH.  The family lives on RFD Route 1 approximately 2-1/2 miles from Gibsonburg in Madison Twp. 

I've never heard the story of how Ula and Ethel met.  (If anyone out there knows, or has early photos, please email me so we can share.)  We can tell from records, however, that Ula and Ethel ran away to get married.  They were living in Gibsonburg at the time, but went to Detroit, Michigan to get married. 

They lied about their ages which was easy to do at that time as there was no standard form of identification (not even driver's licenses for those who might have been able to afford a car).  Ula represented himself to be 21 years of age when, in fact, he was 19 years 1 month and 27 days old.  Ethel, who claimed to be 18 (the legal age in Michigan, while Ohio was 21), was in reality 16 years 6 months and 28 days old.  They took Ula's sister, Fern Truby, and T. E. Ashton (who later became Fern's husband), along with them as witnesses to their marriage.

Jacob Eula Truby part 1

Jacob Eula Truby
born:  1 Apr 1889 - Fertigs, Venango County, Pennsylvania
died:  18 Feb 1950 - Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio

My first posts will feature the man we generally consider the head of our collective families, Ula Truby.

While most of us think of him as Ula Jacob Truby, he was actually born Jacob Eula Truby.  He also went by Eula Jacob Truby and E. J. Truby over the years before settling into the use of Ula Jacob Truby when he filed his Social Security Application in July 1937. 

Some members of the family have argued that Eula is the feminine spelling of the name, and while that may be true now, documentation shows that he did, in fact, start out spelling his name "Eula".

Prior to Social Security, there was no standardization of names or even the spelling of them.  So you will find people using several forms of their names before the 1940's.

When Ula was born in 1899, birth certificates were not in use.  Pennsylvania did not require the registration of births until 1906.  (Ohio did not require it until 1908, just in case you're wondering.)  The Social Security Act was passed in 1936.  Keeping these things in mind will help you to understand the confusing aspect of the various records.

Most members of our family will tell you that Ula was born in Oil City, PA.  In fact, he was born in Fertigs, a very small town in Venango County.  Oil City is the closest "big city" to Fertigs.  It was quite common for a person, when asked where they were from, to answer with the name of the closest city rather than the small town they truly came from.  This was simply because the other person was more likely to know the location of the  larger city rather than the little town.

Ula obtained a "Delayed Birth Certificate" because he needed it to register for the draft during World War II.  He required two people to file affidavits regarding his birth.  His mother's sisters, Sarah Katherine Karnes Davis and Lyda Karnes Fye, provided these.  Below you will find Ula's Delayed Birth Certificate issued March 2, 1942.