Nellie May Scott Jaquillard

My great-grandmother Leta's older sister Nellie May Scott was born on July 17, 1887 in Clay Township, Ottawa County, Ohio. She was six (nearly seven) years older than Leta.

On October 12, 1905, Nellie married Franklin Jaquillard in Toledo (Lucas County), Ohio. She was 19 years old, and he was 24. Franklin was born on June 30, 1881 in Tiffin, Ohio. He was the son of Christian and Mary/Barbara (Walsh) Jaquillard.

According to the 1910 census, Nellie and Frank lived in Toledo, Ohio and had two children—Arnold (age 4) and Violet (age 1). Frank worked in the shipyards as a ship fitter.

Over the years, they would have seven children: Arnold F. (August 14, 1906-November 27, 1983); Violet (January 26, 1909-March 13, 1996); Lyle R. (October 5, 1910-January 18, 1991); Marvin A. (July 22, 1920-March 9, 2011); Delmer M. (November 11, 1922-August 31, 2008); Eldred (August 13, 1924-February 11, 1945).

The 1920 census has Nellie’s family living in Oregon, Ohio, with three children: Arnold (age 13), Viola [Violet] (age 11) and Lyle (age 9). As Marvin was born in July of the same year, Nellie must have been pregnant when the census was taken.

In 1930, they were still living in Oregon, Ohio with four children at home: Lyle (age 20), Marvin (age 10), Delmer (age 8) and Eldred (age 6). By 1940, Lyle had married Helen Miller and moved out, but Marvin (age 19), Delmer (age 17) and Eldred (age 15) lived at home.

Nellie and Franklin had two sons who served in the army during World War II: Marvin and Eldred. Marvin served in the C.B.I. (China-Burma-India) Theatre, where he earned three combat medals. Nellie and Franklin’s youngest son Eldred enlisted in the Army on April 3, 1943. He served as a Tec 4 in the 65^th Signal Corps. He died while serving, on February 11, 1945, and it looks as though his body was never recovered. On April 17, 1948, Franklin filed an application for a military marker, which was approved on May 14. 

Arnold also served in the military. According to the 1930 census, he was stationed at Fort Davis in the Panama Canal Zone. In1940, he was stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii, and in November 1945, he was a staff sergeant, still In Hawaii.

When I was a child, Lyle Jaquillard, his wife Helen and their children lived in a house behind my family’s house. We lived on Randall Drive, and they lived on Eastmoreland. I remember my mother telling us that we were cousins, but if I she told me how, it never sank in very far. What I most remember is that we shared what was called a “party line” on our telephones. This means that while we had separate phone numbers, we were both on the same line. Only one family could use it at a time. It seemed to my sister and me back then that Helen was on the phone all the time. I don’t recall whether or not we ever listened to her conversations. We probably did, but only a little. After all, she was a woman of our grandmother’s generation, and anything she said would have been boring to us. I do remember that we found it annoying when we wanted to use the phone, and she was on it. Also, with a party line, anyone calling us would get a busy signal if anyone in the Lyle Jaquillard house was on the telephone.

Nellie died on June 14, 1954. Franklin outlived her by seven years, dying on August 24, 1961.

Louise Scott Wescotte

Louise Scott, sister of my great-grandmother Leta, was born in March of 1890. There is no formal birth record, so no exact date. She most likely was born at the family home on Woodville Road in Millbury, Ohio. She was the fifth surviving child of David Scott and Julia Snyder, and four years older than Leta. She most likely had a sixth grade education. According to the 1910 census, she lived with her parents and worked in a factory.

On September 19, 1911, Louise married Hiram Ellsworth Wescotte in Lucas County (Toledo), Ohio. He was a carpenter. Hiram was born on April 12, 1891 to Fred Wescotte and Mary (Sarah) Tiplady Wescotte. According to the 1910 census, he had two younger brothers and one younger sister.

Louise and Hiram had four children: Leta (born in 1912), Doris (born in 1916), Robert (born in 1919), and Paul (born in 1925). Doris F. married Elroy Streit and moved to nearby Rossford. Paul ended up in Tampa, Florida. By 1940, Paul was no longer living with the family. Leta was named after her aunt, my great-grandmother, and never married; she lived with her parents her entire life.

While Louise’s family lived in Michigan for a short time (after 1917 until before 1920)—their son Robert was born there—they settled in Oregon, Ohio by the 1920 census, and would remain there for the rest of their lives.

In the 1917-1918 conscription, Hiram registered for the World War I draft. He was 26 years old and pleaded exemption because he had a wife and two children (Leta and Doris) to support. At age 51, in 1942, he registered for service in World War II. It does not look like he served either time.

Hiram was employed for most of his life as a carpenter. According to his obituary, he worked for A. Bentley & Sons, and then American Ship Building Co. However, other records indicate that he worked for several companies: In 1917, he was employed by R. S. Burnor at Houseville West in Toledo. When he registered for the World War II draft in 1942, he was working for John Naumann and Son. He retired in 1956.

Louise and Hiram’s daughter Leta Wescotte was a prominent figure in Oregon, Ohio. She earned her B.S. at Bowling Green State University in Ohio and her Master’s in Education at Ohio State University. She was first a teacher and then a counselor in the Oregon City Schools. She originally taught at Clay Junior High School and the system’s elementary schools. When Josephine Fassett Junior High (now Fassett Middle School) opened in 1960, she became a guidance counselor. Little Leta, as she was known in the family, was also active in the community, with memberships in Delta Kappa Gamma women’s education society, the Oregon-Jerusalem historical society, Oregon Federation of Teachers and the Oregon Artists Club.

She was also a member of Toledo Gospel Tabernacle (now First Alliance Church) in East Toledo. In 1957, the parish founded the Cherry Street Mission, East Toledo’s most well known shelter and service provider.

Leta Wescotte was only 57 years old when she died after a stroke in May of 1970. After her death, an award at Clay High School, presented by the Athletic Association and voted on by the coaches, was created in her honor for the top female athlete in the senior class. The first award was presented in 1976.

Louise died on April 12, 1971 at age 81. She had been living in a nursing home. Of her four children, only two were still living—daughter Doris and son Paul. She had ten grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Her obituary notes that she was a charter member of the First Church of the Nazarene on Starr Avenue in Oregon, Ohio.

After Louise’s death, Hiram moved to Indian Harbor Beach, Florida, where he lived until he died in 1978 at the ripe old age of 87. Their son Paul Wescotte and daughter Doris Streit survived him, as well as 10 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.

Florida

The train from Toledo to St. Petersburg in Florida took two days, but Leta did not mind, even though she had never traveled so far from home. Before this, the farthest she had been from her Ohio home was to Washington, DC when she and her former husband Claud Bassett had taken a rode trip in 1950. That trip was all sightseeing and took a week. This time, she would be gone for two weeks, and was traveling with her sister Louise. They were going to meet their sister Mabel and spend time visiting Louise’s son Paul. Their other sister Nellie was unable to go.

The three sisters had started to plan the excursion three years earlier, the last time Mabel had visited Toledo from Vancouver. Louise wanted to see her son and his family. Leta and Mabel wanted to see each other and Florida.

‘I always loved oranges,” Leta said. “Ever since I was a child. And in Florida you can pick them right off the tree.”

“You can do that in California, too,” her brother Aaron told her. As a young man, he had been to California. But that is also where their father had gone the first and second times he left the family, leaving Leta with a lifelong distaste of the place. On the other hand, Florida seemed much more exotic to her.

The conversation began with a conversation about Paul. Louise had received a postcard from one of her grandchildren, thanking her for a birthday gift. The picture showed an orange grove, and the child mentioned that they had visited one during a school field trip.

“Doesn’t that sound wonderful,” Leta said, “walking through an orange grove?”

“I would like to do that someday,” Mabel agreed wistfully.

“Some day?” their other sister Nellie inquired. “You’re nearly 70 years old. You don’t have that many somedays left.”

“That was mean, Nellie,” Mabel noted, “mean, but true.”

“We should just go there,” Leta declared.

“I’d love to see my son,” Louise added.

“Then why don’t we?” Mabel suggested.

They chatted for a while about how much they would enjoy traveling together—all four sisters—to Florida, enjoying fresh oranges, all the sunshine, and seeing an alligator.

“I hear that crocodiles can live in creeks, just outside of your back door!” Nellie gasped with a shiver. “You can’t even let your dogs or cats out, because they’ll eat them!”

“They’re alligators, I think,” Aaron interjected. He had stopped by on his way home from work to say hello. “Crocodiles are in Africa. Alligators are in Florida.”

“Thank you, Mr. Know-It-All,” Nellie said.

Actually, the sisters were more anxious about a giant man-eating reptile in the backyard than whether it was called a crocodile or alligator.

“You’ve seen too many Tarzan movies,” Aaron quipped. “Mostly, they stay away from people.”

Eventually, the women made their decision. Louise’s daughter Little Leta, unmarried and living with her parents, wanted to join them, but because they decided to escape the cold winter of Ohio and traveled in February, she had to stay behind to work. Nellie was also ailing and could not accompany them. The travelers ended up being Leta, Louise, and Mabel. Paul insisted that they stay with him, and they did, although it was a tight fit.

They spent three weeks there and finally returned home. Two months later, Mabel’s husband Floyd died, and she never traveled again.

Mabel Returns, part two

Leta was anxiously awaiting the arrival of her eldest sister Mabel. This was not surprising: the sisters had not seen each other in more than 35 years. Leta was only five years old when Mabel left Ohio, and she had not been back since. Another sister—Louise—her daughter, and friends, had taken a cross-country trip to Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada to visit Mabel. Now Mabel returned with them for a long visit—to get reacquainted—or, in Leta’s case—basically meet for the first time. At any moment, Mabel would arrive, and Leta did not know how the two sisters would react to seeing each other.

To keep her distracted from pacing around the house, her husband Bob engaged her in conversation.

“She sent me money once, you know,” Leta said.

“She did?” Bob asked.

“During the Depression when things were tough,” Leta explained. “I didn’t ask her. It just arrived one day.”

“That says something, don’t it?”

“What time is it?” Leta inquired. “Do you think I should put the coffee on?”

In preparation for her sister’s visit, Leta made cookies. She wanted to cook supper for them, but Louise shared that Mabel wanted to at least see everyone first before she settled with any individual sibling for a long period. Mabel spent the morning through lunchtime with Louise, her husband Hiram, and their daughter Little Leta. This enabled the travelers to sleep in and recuperate from their long journey. After coffee and conversation with Leta and Bob, they would proceed to their sister Nellie’s for supper. The following day, Mabel would visit with their brother Aaron and his wife Florence. There were six siblings in all, but their brother Fred lived in the state of Oregon and was not part of the reunion.

“That’s a good idea,” Bob answered. “Why don’t you do that?”

Leta rose from her seat and went into the kitchen. Bob knew that she would not just put on the coffee, but also wipe the counters again, and generally tidy up the already spotless kitchen. He presumed that fussing around the kitchen would keep her busy for a few minutes.

Leta had just returned from rearranging the service tray when they heard the sound of an automobile. She tensed briefly and looked at her husband. He smiled with boyish excitement.

“They’re here,” he said.

They waited a few moments and then proceeded to the door, arriving just as their guests did.

Leta saw no one but her sister. Mabel was shorter than Leta and heavier with silver hair, but she was also 56 years old. Like many women of the time, she kept her hair tight and close, with a small amount pulled back into a bun. It was thinner than Leta’s and less curly than any of the other sisters’ hair. Mabel’s nose was angular, like their father’s, coming down into a rounded point. She had blue eyes and thin lips.

Then they caught each other’s eyes, and a sudden warmth rushed through Leta. Mabel smiled, her eyes stretching into little slits. Leta was smiling, too. After all, they were sisters.

“You made it,” Leta said.

“I made it,” Mabel agreed.

“Come inside, come inside,” Bob called from where he was standing behind his wife. Without thinking Leta took her sister’s hand and led her into the living room. Louise, Little Leta, and Hiram followed.

“I see you brought the entire crew with you,” Bob continued jovially. “Come on in and have a seat.” He ushered them into the living room. “You’re in for a real treat. Leta made some of her special raisin cookies.”

“Those cookies are marvelous!” agreed Hiram, practically licking his lips.

Mabel spent the next four weeks reconnecting with her family. She spent a week of her visit with Leta and Bob, and the sisters spent much of that time talking. Mabel told several stories of her childhood, remembering Leta’s first few years with great warmth. She shared about her brief time in Minnesota before she, her new husband Floyd, and his son Cortland moved to British Columbia. She talked about living in Canada, which, in many ways, was a foreign country to Leta. She gave Leta some Canadian money, which Bob thought was a great gift. They drove to the former location of their childhood home, a log cabin on Woodville Road. The cabin was no longer there, but Mabel remembered the area distinctively.

“Aaron and I used to fish in a little pond,” she said. “It’s gone now.”

Little Leta, Louise’s daughter, contacted the Toledo Blade. They were going to have their picture taken and a brief story in the society pages. They also planned a larger Scott family reunion to be held at the local park on Labor Day.

When it came time for Mabel to leave, all four of the siblings accompanied her to the train station. They made sure that she had enough provisions for her long journey, and several souvenirs to remind her of her siblings and her former home. They also sent gifts with he for her husband and stepson. While they were not a particularly emotional family, there was a sense of sadness in the air.

“This has been wonderful,” Mabel said with a few tears in her eyes. “I can’t believe it took me all this time to get back here.”

“We’ll see you again,” Aaron said with a smile.

And they did