3. The Plot Thickens

Where to look next? It was time to check the census records for Youngstown. I found records for my great grandfather, John Mullen Sr., and his family in all the census years from 1900 through 1950. 

In 1900 he was living with his wife, Catherine, and two sons, Raymond C. (4) and John A. (6 months). They lived in a rental house on Foster Street in the Brier Hill neighborhood of Youngstown. My great-grandfather was 29 and said he was born in Scotland, along with his parents. He listed “engineer” as his occupation. He and Catherine had been married for two years and had one child together. Catherine said she was born in Pennsylvania, and both of her parents were born in Ireland.

The plot thickens. It seems my great-grandfather had been married twice and had a child named Raymond with his first wife. Grandpa Mullen had a half-brother! What happened to Raymond? And who was his mother and my great-grandfather’s first wife? What happened to her? My mother didn’t know much. She knew about Raymond but didn’t know anything about his mother. It was a mystery that would have to wait.

By 1910, the Mullen family had moved to another rental house two blocks away. Raymond and John Jr. (Grandpa) were both in school. John Sr. was a machinist in a steel mill. (Carnegie?)

 

 By 1920, Raymond had moved out.

Both Grandpa and his father were still working in a steel mill. 

1920 was the first census where the family lived at 631 Delaware Avenue, and they were homeowners. 

 

(The house on Delaware Ave was built in 1914, so it was likely a new house when my great-grandparents either bought it or had it built.)

                The 1930 census showed some interesting new details.

•  John, Sr. said he immigrated to the U.S. from Scotland in 1875.
•  He married his first wife when he was 23. (in 1895) 
• The house on Delaware Ave. was worth $7,000
• They owned a radio set.  (40% of households had a radio in 1930)
•  Other family members in the household:
•  Catherine, his wife, age 63
•  John A. Mullen, Jr., his son, age 30
•  Helen, daughter-in-law, age 27
•  Louise K., granddaughter, age 6
• John M., grandson, age 4

So… Great Grandpa Mullen did not come to the U.S. by himself, since he was only three when he arrived. His parents must have been here too, but did they stay or return to Scotland? Since Mom told me that her grandfather didn’t have any family, or at least not any family that she met - maybe they did go back?

1930 was the first census after Grandma and Grandpa got married, and they moved in with Grandpa’s parents – never to move out and buy a house of their own, although they eventually inherited the family home.  Mom was born in 1923 and Uncle Jack in 1926.

Mom & Uncle Jack (c. 1928/1929)

By 1940, the value of their house decreased almost 30% to $4,800. The Depression had taken its toll. Both John Sr. and John Jr. were working steadily, even though John Sr. was past retirement age. John Sr. was a mechanical foreman and John Jr. was a machinist.  Mom was a high school junior and Uncle Jack was a freshman. Grandma Helen and Great-Grandma Catherine were doing “home housework".

I talked to my mother about what it was like during the Depression since she was six in 1929 when the stock market crashed.  During the 1930s she would have attended grade school and most of high school.  She told me that they always had food and the necessities, and she didn't really feel the impact directly.  She also said most of her friends were in the same boat, so she didn't feel like she was all that different from them.  Since both her father and grandfather continued to work, their two sources of income helped the family during the Depression.  

There were a lot of changes in the years between 1940 and 1950.  The U.S. entered WWII in 1941 with the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the Depression ended largely because of the war effort.  By the time of the 1950 census, both the Depression and WWII were over. 

The Mullen family experienced some changes too.  Grandpa continued to work as a machinist, but his father had retired at some point before 1950 and was no longer considered the head of the household.  Grandpa took on that role. His father became a widower in 1944 with the death of  Grandpa's mother, Catherine.  Mom moved out in 1946 when she left for Germany to join my father after the war.  Uncle Jack continued to live at home and was working as a fabricator in a steel mill in 1950.  Grandma's sister, Margaret Carney, was also living in the household and working as a stenographer.

(The 1950 census is the latest one available due to the 72 year privacy rule)  

Time to update the family tree again: