#8 Margarita Wall Chretin (1882-1904) - A Life Cut Short

PCA Archives

Margarita Wall was born February 14, 1882, most likely in Arizona.  She was the first-born daughter of Fred Wall and Refugio Rebecca Ramirez.  Fred Wall is thought to have been an immigrant from Ireland and sometime miner.  A sister, Matilda, was born about four years later, after which her parents parted.  Their mother remarried several times thereafter.

On February 15, 1904, Margarita (or Maggie, as she was known), wed Carlos Robledo Chretin in Phoenix, Arizona.  Chretin’s unusual surname was due to the fact that his father, Jean-Marie Chretin, was a Frenchman who had married a Mexican woman.

Maggie was probably suffering from tuberculosis already at the time of her marriage.  She gave birth to a male infant on December 2, 1904, and died only six days later, on December 8.  She was buried in Rosedale Cemetery, with a three-piece marble monument marking her grave.

Maggie’s newborn son was originally named Fred John Chretin.  Upon his mother’s death, he was given to his maternal grandmother, Refugio Rebecca Ramirez, who was already nursing an eight-month-old daughter named Ruby O’Leary.   Baby Fred’s life was most likely saved because of this steady supply of breastmilk, which also imparted some degree of immunity to childhood illnesses.  Fred and Ruby grew up together, and Fred always regarded her as his sister, even though she was actually his half-aunt.  Being raised in his grandmother’s household, Fred adopted the surname of her then husband, Daniel O’Leary.

Margaret Chretin’s widower, Carlos Chretin, eventually remarried and had several more children with his second wife, Marta Hernandez.   Both the Chretins and the O’Learys moved to Los Angeles around 1918.

- by Donna Carr

 

Dr. Edward Nathan Gerard (1834-1904) - Physician and Surgeon

 

Photograph attached to Gerard’s Find A Grave memorial, #50912700

Edward Nathan Gerard was born in Rensselaer, Ralls County, Missouri, in 1834.   He was the youngest child of William Gerard and his second wife, Elizabeth Ann Ayres.  The Gerards had moved to Missouri around 1814.  By 1850, William was successful farmer, with an estate reportedly worth about $3000.  He went on to be elected to the Missouri State Legislature.

 On June 18, 1857, Edward married Priscilla Drane in Marion, Missouri.

Determined to go into the medical profession, Edward studied first with Dr. J. B. Hayes, a local physician.  Then he moved to Keokuk, Iowa, to study at the University of Iowa Medical School.   His wife Priscilla seems to have remained in Rensselaer, as their three oldest children were all born in Missouri.  After Edward graduated in 1861, the Gerards settled on a farm near Monroe City, Missouri.  To date, no evidence has been found of Edward serving during the Civil War.

In June, 1864, the Gerards moved to the town of Shelbina, where Dr. Gerard opened an office.  He took Dr. Jacob D. Smith into his practice in 1873, a partnership that lasted until 1876.   Gerard was said to be an able surgeon, and he was active in local medical societies.

Dr. Gerard practiced medicine in Missouri until 1895.  Then, their children grown, the Gerards moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where Gerard continued to see patients at his office on Washington Street, in the Irvine Block.

In 1900, Dr. Gerard returned to Missouri and brought back with him his son William Wilson Gerard, a schoolmaster who had contracted tuberculosis.  At this point, the Gerard family relocated to Mesa.  Unfortunately, William did not recover; he died on November 9, 1903, and was buried in Rosedale Cemetery.

Dr. Gerard’s health was deteriorating, too.  He died in Mesa of chronic cystitis on March 18, 1904.  The funeral took place at Trinity Episcopal Church in Phoenix, followed by interment in the family plot in Rosedale. 

After Gerard’s widow Priscilla died February 20, 1913, in Oakland, California, her remains were brought back to Phoenix for burial.  In 1920, family members had all three burials removed to Greenwood Cemetery.

 -by Donna L. Carr

 

 

Cornstarch Cake - 1904

 

This is a vintage moist and spongy cake.  It does have a tendency to fall, so I would try the recommendations at the end.  Don't let it win!

Ingredients:

 sugar, 2 cupfuls

butter, 1 cupful

milk, 1 cupful

eggs, 3

soda, 1 teaspoonful

flour, 2 cupfuls

cornstarch, 1 cupful

cream-tartar, 2 teaspoonfuls

Directions:

Stir two cupfuls of sugar and one of butter to a cream.  Add one cup of milk, three eggs, whites and yolks beaten separately, and one teaspoonful of soda, dissolved in a little hot water. Then stir in two cupfuls of flour, and one cupful of cornstarch, with two teaspoonfuls of cream-tartar sifted through them (original directions - The New York Cake Cook).

Modification:  Bake in a 6-inch pan for 60 minutes, avoiding opening
the door for 45 minutes.  cool upside down.

George Ulmer Collins (1835-1904) - Farmer and Rancher

 

Generated Generic AI Image

At the time of his death, George U. Collins was a prosperous cattleman and farmer, as well as a member of the Arizona Territorial Legislature.

Born March 1835 in the state of Maine, George was the oldest child of Thomas R. Collins and Lucy W. Ulmer.  The 1850 federal census of Liberty, Waldo County, Maine, records the Collinses as farmers.

By 1860, young George was living in East Boston, Massachusetts, and his occupation was listed as ‘ship’s carpenter’.  Perhaps George took advantage of his proximity to sailing ships to do some traveling.  At any rate, 1870 found him living in Santa Cruz, California, living with Mary Fenderson, whom he had met and married there in 1861.  George was working as a tollgate keeper in 1870, and his estimated worth was $2000—not bad for the times!

Evidently, George used some of his funds to move to Arizona in 1875 and purchase land.  By 1880, he and his family were living on a farm in Township 1N2E, three and a half miles southwest of the original Phoenix townsite and not far from the Salt River.  Collins was an early user of irrigation water, which he used to grow alfalfa.  As the little settlement of Phoenix grew, George became a prosperous farmer and rancher.

George’s wife Mary died unexpectedly on October 29, 1890.  One of her sons was bringing an armload of firewood to the house when he saw her fall, but he was unable to revive her.  She was buried in a Phoenix cemetery, most probably in what is now the Pioneer & Military Memorial Park.  Two of her grandchildren were buried in City Loosley Cemetery--possibly near her--a few years later. 

George continued working on the family farm.  Rather than relying on gravity to fill his irrigation ditches, he began digging a well in 1900.  Although he struck water at 29 feet, he continued digging to assure a good source of water throughout the dry season.  In 1901, he installed a 60-hp pump to bring the water to the surface, thereby making his property the best watered in the area. 

As an influential early settler, George joined the Masonic Order, the Knights Templar and the B.P.O.E. He was also active in local politics, being elected to the Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1903.

Shortly before Christmas in 1903, George came down with a cough which turned into pneumonia.  He died on January 1, 1904, and was buried in the Masons cemetery.  There is no grave marker.

When George’s will was entered into probate, his adult sons were chagrined to learn that he had left half of his estate to the Knights Templar, of which he had been a long-time member.  The other half was to be divided between his two sons.  They argued that their father had been unduly influenced by one of his Masonic brethren, who might stand to benefit in some way.  However, the court ruled that the will was valid, since George’s bequest was to the Order itself and not to any particular individual.

-By Donna

 

Unusual Restaurants

 

Moshulu 1904 - Now a Floating Restaurant

Library of Congress

The 1800s were a period of great innovation and diversity in the culinary world, giving rise to several unusual restaurants that captured the imagination of diners of the time. Here are a few notable examples:

Automat Restaurants: While the first true automat, Horn & Hardart, opened in Philadelphia in 1902, the concept of automated dining began to take shape in the late 1800s. These establishments featured coin-operated machines where customers could retrieve pre-prepared meals without the need for waitstaff, a novelty that fascinated the public.

Theme Restaurants: The 1800s saw the emergence of theme restaurants, such as the Egyptian-themed Café des Aveugles in Paris, a cabaret where blind musicians performed. These thematic dining spaces offered patrons not just a meal but an immersive experience, blending cuisine with entertainment and exotic or historical atmospheres.

Floating Restaurants: With the expansion of empires and the increased movement of goods and people, floating restaurants began to appear in port cities and along major rivers. These establishments offered diners the novelty of eating while gently bobbing on the water, providing a unique dining experience combined with picturesque views.

 

#9 - Theodore Charles Petersen (1851-1904) - Brick Mason

 

PCA Archives

Theodore Charles Petersen was born 1851 in Denmark and was a brick mason. He was married to Lena Toppen and the father of five children. While riding his bicycle down Washington Street on December 28, 1904, he turned in front of a streetcar, fell beneath it and was crushed. Petersen, who had been active in several fraternal organizations, was buried in the IOOF Cemetery.

Ida Emma Bailey Murray Guenther (1853 - 1904) - A Woman of Many Tales!

Picture by Val

Ida was born in Denmark April 1853 and arrived in the United States in 1865. We do not know what circumstances brought Ida to Arizona, or who her first husband was. One can only guess since her circumstances seemed to have led her to a life of conflict and drink.

Mrs. Ida Bailey came to attention when she was charged along with Fred Steffans with ―mutually maligning each other and the employment of language which is not admissible to mail bags‖ on April 2, 1893.

Soon after that incident, she married Joseph P. Murray, a blacksmith, on April 23, Witnesses to this marriage were Frankie Hill and H.C. King. Frankie Hill (aka Minnie Drum) was a known madam in Phoenix. At the time of their marriage, they were both described as elderly. She was 40 years old and Joseph was 57 years old. The paper reported that they were off to the World’s Fair on honeymoon. Joseph was in Graham County, Arizona by 1896 and it does not appear Ida was with him. Joseph had been in Arizona since his discharge from service after the Civil War. He was admitted to Sawtelle Disabled Veterans’ Home on February 3, 1899 and died January 29, 1906. When he was admitted, he declared that he was single.

Shortly after her marriage, Ida was living behind the Central Hotel in Phoenix. The hotel was located on the north side of Washington Street between 1st and 2nd Streets. The alleys behind the hotel were known for all sorts of criminal behavior, the main problem being prostitution. On June 23, 1893, Ida was involved in a dispute with neighbor Annie Marchand, and tried to fire a shot at her with a handgun.

Annie complained to Marshall Blankenship and Ida was arrested and fined. The dispute only escalated. Ida, upset with Annie’s complaint to the police and, inspired by whiskey and morphine‖, complained to the police that Annie had been calling her names reflecting on her chastity and general good nature. When police investigated that complaint, it was found that Ida was the problem, and again, she and companion Jose Maria Maldanado were arrested. Ida posted bond, and four hours later, on July 1, 1893, a fire swept the residences in the alley behind the Central Hotel. The fire was so intense that it threatened the hotel. It was learned that Ida had moved all her belongings out of her residence prior to the fire. Annie lost her belongings including $1000 in cash and a piano. Ida Murray and companion Jose Maria Maldanado were briefly held as suspects in the arson.

The stories about Ida don't end here.  Come to the PMMP to learn more about Ida and her many adventures! - Patty