My Grandparents
Above is a document showing the recording of the birth of Edna Drouillard. It shows her birth as August 30, 1888 with it being recorded on November 9, 1888. This document is probably a government record rather than a birth/baptismal record which would have come from a church. She is believed to have been baptized at St. Joseph’s Catholic church in River Canard. Her birth date is shown as August 30 but her son, James Richard, always claimed her birthday was celebrated as February 29. Additionally, her social security application and death certicatee list February 29, 1888. To further add confusion her marriage records shows her age 20 on the April 30, 1909 date of marriage. Whatever her actual birth date, it seems clear that she was born in 1888 at River Canard. Note that the recorder of births is shown as D. Drouillard.
Edna is the name she would use although record show her as Elouidge or some variation thereof there being no easy translation to English. Her surname of Drouillard is shared in the heritage of many in Canada. She was the fourth of five children with two brothers and sisters. In the 1891 Census she is shown living with her parents and siblings: Josephine (age 9), Philomene (6), Simon (5), and Alphonse (5 months). Her father is shown as a farm laborer. This census was taken on April 7, 1891 and Edna’s age is shown as 2 which would seem to dispute the February 29th birth date.
George was born October 24, 1887 at the family home at 4 Wellesley Rd., Torquay, County of Devon, England. This home still stands. He had a four year old sister, Margaret who went by the name Maud, at the time of his birth and a brother Charles Walter who died in 1888 at the age of two. His father, George Walter, was a blacksmith. His mother was Sarah Ann (nee Mitch). She was the daughter of Charles Mitch and Jane McStarvick. Sarah’s father served in the Royal Navy. On his last ship, Royal Adelaide, he is shown as a boatswain. Sarah Ann was born in Barbados on November 26, 1864.
The 1891 Census of Canada shows the George Walter Speare family living in Hamilton, Ontario now with the addition of a daughter, Susan, whose age is listed as 0 years and a birth location of Canada. The year of immigration is shown as 1888. There are some cousins of George W. already living in the Hamilton area. At some unknown time, the family moves to Southampton, Bruce County, Ontario which is located on the eastern shore of Lake Huron. Sarah Ann dies there on March 10, 1896. On that date George W. purchased a gravesite at plot 24c in the Old Southampton Cemetery, presumably for the remains of Sarah.
About the year 1897, George W. marries Christina Ellen Gray. In the 1901 Canadian Census, he is living in Southampton with Christina, her mother (Georgina Gray) age 71, Barbara (Christina’s daughter from a previous marriage), and a daughter Andrea (called Rea) born in 1899 to George W. and Christina. Also, listed in that census living with the above are Margaret, George R, and Susan. The 1901 census further shows the family as Presbyterian and Christina is Scottish. In 1906, another son is born (Walter John).
In time, George R moves to the Windsor, Ontario area and finds work as a machinist and in some unknown manner meets Edna Drouillard. They are married at St. Alphonse Roman Catholic Church in Windsor on April 23, 1909.
On August 19, 1909 son George Edward is born in Ontario. On March 1, 1910, they are shown to have crossed the border into the US via Detroit and indicated that Monroe, Michigan is their final destination.
On the border crossing log, no relatives are listed to be at their Monroe destination. However, Drouillard families of unknown kinship are known to be in the area as well as other close cities such as Wyandotte.
On May 5, 1910 the family is counted in the USA 1910 Census. George R. is listed as a machinist and working at the Klein Company.
George R. and Edna would in time have 12 children together. They are: George Edward (1909), Adam John (1911), Charles Robert (1912), Ivan Alexander (1914), Suzanne Margaret (1916), James Richard (1918), Christina Helen (1920), John Andrew (1923), Ruth Marilyn (1924), Edna Mae (1926), David Newton (1929), and Patricia Jeannette (1931). All survive into adulthood except for Ivan who died at 17 days. Except for George Edward all children were born in the Detroit area (Del Ray, Detroit, or Hamtramck).
While not a citizen of the USA, George R. registered for the World War I draft on June 5, 1917. He is shown living at 510 Monroe in Detroit. He is medium height and build with blue eyes, light brown hair and is not bald. He indicates that he has filed intent papers for citizenship but later records will show he did not pursue citizenship in this time frame.
The 1920 Census shows them living in Detroit and George R. is shown as a wood machinist working in an auto factory.
The 1930 Census shows the family living at 11435 Charest Ave. in the city of Hamtramck, Michigan. All children remain with their parents except George Edward who had married Florence Lewandowski in October, 1929. George R. is show as continuing to work as a machinist at a furniture factory.
The 1930’s were difficult times for the Speare family and the rest of America. The Great Depression filled the decade with unemployed workers and families struggling to survive.
On October 10, 1936, George R. and Edna filed for divorce. That divorce was finalized on June 1, 1937. The grounds are shown to be extreme cruelty. At the time, grounds for divorce were very limited so cruelty, infidelity or other reasons might be sighted for the record but not necessarily related to the real reasons. Alimony is shown as “Reserved”. There is no record of custody of the children. At the time of the divorce several sons were already married (George Edward, Adam John, Charles Robert). Daughter, Suzanne Margaret, would die in auto accident in Texas on June 21, 1937. She had married Peter Fura on September 4, 1936.
Somewhere in this time frame, George R. would travel to California in search of work. Over time, George sent for many of the younger children who came to live with him in the Los Angeles area. The 1940 US Census shows him living at the Hotel Oxford, 1120 S Grand Ave., Los Angeles with Ida M. (perhaps a wife) and children Christina, Ruth, John, and Edna M. All are identified as guest except for George who is show as family head.
No record has yet been found of the 1940 residence of Edna and son David N. It is presumed that David remained with his mother and both may have been living in Canada.
On June 7, 1942 Edna married John (Jack) A. Gray. There is some possibility that John was a cousin of some sort of Christina Gray second wife of George W. Speare. Edna and John would remain married until the death of Edna.
On April 1, 1942, George once again files an intent form for citizenship. He indicates that he had previous filed this form. A record of his being granted citizenship has not yet been found. George is shown as being 5′ 7 1/2″ tall and weighing 150 pounds.
George R. like many men was required to register for the WWII draft. George was 54 at the time. This was often referred to as the “old man” draft as it was done to assess worker skills more than registering younger men suited for combat. He is shown to be living at 1286 W. 23rd St., Los Angeles and is employed at the Empire Chair Co.
George R. is believed to have married at least once while living the remainder of his life in Los Angeles but I do not have adequate sources to list possible wife or wives. He died on January 12, 1952 and is buried at Valhalla Memorial Park in North Hollywood, California. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/197917380/george-richard-speare
While I do not recall meeting this grandfather, I do have vivid memories of my grandmother Edna. I understood that she and John Gray operate a small market store in the River Canard/Amherstburg area. Apparently, one or both of them were involved in an auto accident and used that money to purchase a small farm in Amherstburg. I was too small to know its exact location but do remember visiting there. Edna suffered from asthma and the fresh air was prescribed for her health. My father told me she had gone to Nevada to be with her son John who was a painter at the Hoover dam to be in that warm dry climate. She was said to have found the wind and dust storms worst that the cure and returned to the Detroit/Windsor area. I have no idea what time frame that was. Visits to her in Canada with my parents happened every 4-6 weeks. I do remember visiting the farm. I loved drinking milk at the time but my grandmother only had goat mile which was unpasteurized and the look of it was enough for me. I never did drink it. Later, her asthma became a chronic problem. More and more of our visits were to a hospital were she was recuperating from frequent attacks. Coughing bouts were always a part of my memories of visits to grandma, I remember John Gray being a supporting husband when she was home always looking out for her comfort. Going to Canada to visit was a bit of an ordeal in the early 50’s. There were no expressways. At the border, one had to surrender your car registration and retrieve it on your return. When we visited the farm, we frequently had fruits and vegetables which were always hidden away as we weren’t sure if they were allowed into the States. That was as close as we came to being an international smuggling ring. Many visitors to Canada would smuggle Hiram Walker alcohol products into the US. My parents never did as liquor was an infrequent guest in our house. Still there were great stories in Detroit of the smuggling that went on during the US experiment with prohibition.
The asthma was said to take a toll on Edna’s heart and she died on April 16, 1955. I was 9 years old at the time and still vividly remember the funeral. My brother Thomas along with fraternal cousins were pallbearers. It was raining as her casket was escorted to the grave. She is buried at the Assumption Cemetery located at the foot of the Detroit/Windsor bridge. A recent visit to the grave site indicated that there is no headstone or marker.
Edna Drouillard Speare Gray Obit Windsor Star
