52 Ancestors Week 2, Favorite Photo: Peter Lee Doyle

Great-Grandpa Peter Lee Doyle with his daughter, Rose

Week 2 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks challenge is to choose a favorite photo.

This was a bit challenging for me since there are so many great photos that I love. I chose to share this photo of my maternal Great-Grandfather Peter Lee Doyle and his daughter, Rose. For some reason, I have always been drawn to this picture. I have wondered what was happening in his life on this day. They seem dressed up to me. Was it a holiday? maybe some other special occasion?  This photo was taken in about 1912 most likely in or around Buxton, Iowa.

My grandmother Margaret, talked about her father all the time. It was plain to see just how much she loved him. Every time she spoke of him, her eyes lit up, and she smiled.  I can still hear her voice saying.."Papa wasn't very tall. His hair was carrot red and his eyes were blue. He never learned how to read or write, but he sure knew how to figure math!" Grandma said that he was the kindest man that you ever want to meet. Very kind and gentle. He often took neighbors in need a box of food. My grandmother often spoke of how life was in the old days compared to the modern conveniences we have today. Life in the coal mining camps wasn't easy. She said that her parents worked very hard. She remembered, washing diapers outside in a big pot on an open fire and hanging them on the line to dry. She laughed as she told me, how the diapers dried stiff as a board on the line and had to be brought inside the house to warm.

Grandpa Peter was born November 27, 1869 in Pittsylvanina County, Virginia.  He left Virginia in the late 1800's becoming part of the great migration from Virginia to  Buxton, Iowa. He worked as a Coalminer for many years. In about 1916  he moved his family to Danville, Illinois after the mines closed down. He married his first wife in Virginia, Mary Johnson. He had three daughters, Hattie, Mattie and Letha.  In 1903 he married Mary Belle Carr in Buxton, Iowa. Together they had 7 children. Lonnie, Eliza (both died in infancy), William, Rose, Margaret, Leonard, Edythe (Pie), Johnny and Esther pearl. The family moved back to Iowa in about 1922. After moving around they eventually Settled in Des Moines. He died September 1934 in Des Moines, Iowa.

Great-Grandpa Peter

A Mothers Children: The Sweet Souls In Buxton, Iowa

My Grandmother, Margaret Doyle (standing left) with her mother Mary Belle Carr and siblings, Bill, Johnny and Edythe. 1930

While looking further into the past of the men on my maternal side of the family, who worked as Coalminers in Buxton and Enterprise, Iowa. It was my Great-Grandmother, Mary Belle Carr, who caught my attention and sent my thoughts in another direction. So here I am, going with the flow of my ancestors...

When my grandma Margaret, talked about her mother. She never failed to mention what a hard life that her mother had. When I asked her why, she said that her mother worked so hard, and had suffered through the heartache of losing many children at a young age. From all that I know about my great-grandmother, I think that she must of  been very strong. I wondered what life was like for a woman 100 years ago. The infant mortality rate was pretty high. Unlike today, most women gave birth to their children at home. Many women lost children due to stillbirths, illness, inadequate medical care, and accidents of the time.

Great Grandma Mary was just a teenager when she married her husband Peter Doyle. On their marriage record it states that she was 19. Born in May of 1886, she was actually 16. She came from Virginia to Iowa and married Peter in 1903. She started her family life there in the Coal Mining town of Buxton, becoming a mother to his three young daughters from his previous marriage, Hattie, Mattie and Letha.

My Grandmother, who was born in 1916 always said that she was the ninth child born to her mother. She had two older siblings, Rose and Bill. Rose, who was the oldest of all the children. Was born in 1910. William was born in 1913. Between 1903 and 1907, Grandma Mary lost babies, one right after another. All stillborn. In 1908, she gave birth to a baby boy named Louie. He was the first child born alive. He lived for just two months before his passing in January of 1909. My Grandma used to say that she remembered hearing her parents talk about the baby boy who lived the longest. She never could remember his name exactly, she said she thought his name was Lonnie???,.. or something like that,..she wasn't quite sure..I have since come across Louie's death record and realized that he was the baby that grandma tried so hard to remember. There was another baby, named Eliza. She was born and died in March 1907. She was most likely named after Peter's sister Eliza.

Mary went on to have seven children that survived past infancy. I'm told that she thirteen in total. Years later she lost two more children. Her youngest child, Little Esther, died in 1931 at age 3 after eating poison berries while playing in the yard. Her son John was just 20 years old when he died in 1945 during WWII in France.

I've always been told that Grandma Mary was a spiritual woman of faith. She put her trust in the Lord and prayed continuously. Eventually becoming an Evangelist. I'm sure that her faith is what helped her through the most difficult times in her life. ♥



Denise






© 2014 Denise Muhammad and They Came From Virginia

Sources: Interview with Margaret D. James
Monroe county Marriage record
Buxton Iowa Cemetery Records
Polk County Iowa Death Records

My Grandma Mary: The Evangelist

This blog post was written for The 5th edition Carnival of African American Genealogy REBIRTH: (CoAAG)  Hosted by Luckie Daniels of  Our Georgia Roots and Our Alabama Roots

Mary B. Doyle 1886-1966

There are many church memories that I could blog about, however when I think about Church memories relating to an ancestor. My Great-Grandmother comes to mind. She is pictured here in her robe, bible in hand.

Growing up I've always been told about my maternal Great-Grandmother, Mary Belle CARR DOYLE. Although I have no memory of her, my mother and grandmother talked about her so often, I've often wished that I did. I've always admired her strength and courage, which spoke volumes to me in all the stories that I've been told about her. Known for her quick "Hot temper". She was the feisty patriarch of our family. My Grandma would chuckle as she told me that her mother Mary was the one who gave out all the whippins' when she and her siblings were children. She followed that by saying..."My poor father". She was born 1886 in Lynchburg, Virginia. If you were in Grandma Mary's house, you better believe that come Sunday you were going to church. No doubt about it! You could also expect to attend the church revivals. My mother  was very close with her grandma and loved going to church with her. After church, the family gathered for Sunday dinner. Mom say's that Grandma Mary made the best Lemonade in the world! The family attended Bethel AME Church in Des Moines, Iowa for many years. The church is still there and many family members still attend today.

Mary B. Carr Doyle-1920's

Grandma Mary was an Evangelist and was very well known in the community. She preached the word in her home church and also traveled all over. She often visited the sick and shut in. Many day's you could find her at the local prisons, where she also preached. My mother said that she often stayed up half the night praying, and remembers her sitting in her chair praying and rocking. Grandma Mary laid a spiritual foundation of faith and family in her children that has been passed down to theirs.





Denise

© 2013 Denise Muhammad

The Skin That I'm In

Margaret Doyle

I have been thinking about this blog topic for days. Trying to decide if I should share more of my grandmother's story. Athough genealogy does bring pain, my intent is never to hurt anyone's feelings. However, this story, like all the other's was a part of her and I think that she would want me to share..

When my maternal Grandmother passed away nearly three years ago at the age of 94. My family came together as families do. At her memorial gathering each of us grandchildren stepped up to share kind words about her. She was the only grandmother that we knew growing up. When my brother spoke about her, he started out by saying " I never knew that my grandma was white". It was then that I realized that even in our family many did not know about her Identity. I just assumed that we all knew.   I realized that her history needed to be shared with everyone. Although she identified herself as being black or "Negro" as she would say. She did look white and could have easily passed for that if she wanted to. Growing up, we didn't see the color of her skin. She was just Grandma. We were crazy about her and she was always, always there.

My Grandparents: Anthony Bannarn and Margaret Doyle

She came from a mixed race family. Her father Peter DOYLE was Native American and Irish. Having red hair and blue eyes he looked more white than anything. Her mother, Mary Belle CARR was black, Indian and German. She had eight siblings, out of which two of her brothers were darker in color than the rest. That in itself caused racial issues between the siblings.

Out of the many talks that we had over the years. The one thing that she never talked about was the color of her skin. I wondered if she had ever passed for white. I always sensed that it was a touchy subject for her and although I was curious I could never bring myself to ask her. It wasn't until she was almost 90 years old that she finally shared her story with me. As she started talking I noticed the far away look in her eyes. It seemed as if she was no longer in the room..she had traveled back in time to share her story with me. Her pain was so obvious.



Her Story:

Siblings: Margaret and Robert Leonard Doyle

Growing up in Iowa in the 1920's and Great depression era of the 1930's..life was not easy. Most people thought that her father was a white man with a black wife. It was a time when they didn't ask you what you were. The color of your skin spoke first. Her father; the son of a slave, knew first hand about the struggle that his white looking children faced. He told her to marry into the black race because the white race would never accept her. While her brother Bill struggled with his identity, being darker than his fair skinned siblings..her sister Rose passed for white to get jobs in the rich neighborhoods of Iowa. Swearing her siblings to secrecy, she told them that should they see her to just act like they didn't know her. She talked about how prejudice Des Moines, Iowa was and all the racial slurs her family suffered.The Klu Klux Klan was a real and active force in many Iowa towns. They burned a cross on her family's front lawn in the 1920's. After she married my grandfather, Anthony BANNARN and moved to Minnesota. She still faced discrimination. As the country went into WWII she went to work to help take care of her family. She would get hired for jobs. They never asked about her race, and she never told them. All was fine until they found out that she was colored, and then she was fired. This happened many times.

I loved her even more for sharing her uncomfortable memories with me. I understood so much more about who she was. She had answered all the things that I was curious about but could never bring myself to ask her. She knew me as her quiet  granddaughter, forever asking questions about the family. She also knew that I wanted to know all that there was to know about her and her ancestors.. maybe that's why she finally shared her story with me.
 

Grandma holding my sister, me and my brothers  - 1965

Denise



© 2013 Denise Muhammad

Remembering Grandma Margaret

Today I woke up with my grandma on my mind. It's been almost three years since her passing and I still have days that are difficult. I miss her so much. Grandma would think she was a celebrity if she knew I was blogging about her! She would ask me "What the heck is a blog?" She was " The Life of The Party" always laughing, smiling, she loved her family. This is my favorite picture of her. She looks so happy. It shows her twinkling eyes, blue in color. She was a special woman and very feisty. She had so many little quirky sayings, she kept us all laughing. I credit her for my passion for genealogy and sewing. We would spend hours talking about her family, her showing me pictures. We did this over and over again. over the years. Then she would pull out the sewing machine. "Mama and Papa" as she called them. Her Papa was a coal miner from Virginia that migrated to the Coal mining camps of Buxton, Iowa. She lived long, 94 years. Born in 1916 she knew all about the Great depression and talked about it often. She would say  "It's Sin to Waste Food". That is now ingrained in my head, I heard it so much growing up. Margaret Doyle James, will always be remembered. Her love, courage and strength that she displayed continues to inspire me.


Denise