Not her father’s daughter

I’m not one to go about picking on other’s research, but I suppose (with five years of Emmett Wilson research — that’s way over 10,000 hours of continuous digging and nit-picking) I can safely call myself an Emmett Wilson Expert.

…at least, that’s what my colleague (who is a credible researcher) over at the National Archives called me the other day, when I stopped by to do a source check. 😀

Anyway. Today’s post is about our resilient Minnie E. Kehoe.

Yesterday, I found this:

Source: Florida Bar

Details of the book.

A Who’s Who of the first woman lawyers of Florida. One of the nice things about this resource is not only does it provide the bios, but also the timeline of when the women were admitted to the Florida bar.

And yes, Minnie is listed as one of the first women lawyers in Florida, starting on page 8.

But, despite the fact the information has sources, there’s several errors. Here’s what I mean:

The first error in the rectangle.

Yes, Minnie was admitted to the bar in 1913; she worked in Pensacola for many years, then moved to Miami to be near family, namely her prominent brother J. Walter Kehoe, then she returned to Pensacola.

But Ervin’s incorrect about her father’s vocation. John Francis Kehoe, Minnie and Walter’s father, was a prominent bricklayer/brickmaker, and in fact supplied some of the materials for the construction of the Jackson County (Florida) Courthouse in Marianna.

From the Pensacola City Directory, 1885. Note the lack of lawyerly vocation info.

Minnie’s brother, J. Walter, was a U.S. Congressman for one term (1917-1919).

The next item to note:

John Kehoe died in 1906, so, even if John was an attorney, Minnie couldn’t have practiced with him.

Actually, in the 1913 Pensacola city directory, Minnie was a court reporter — she wasn’t exactly ‘practicing’ law right off the bat in 1913, and she wasn’t working with anyone else:

Pensacola City Directory for 1913. Note that brother Walter has a different office address.

Eventually, Minnie did have her own practice, as well as a business school (but today we’re talking about her as a lawyer):

Pensacola City Directory for 1916. By 1916, she had her own office, again, separate from her brother Walter. According to family information, she ALWAYS did it HER way.

I’m glad to see Minnie getting her due recognition, but disappointed in the sloppy data confirmation.

I’m a little surprised that a Bar publication would use sources with unverified information (i.e., Ervin’s statement about Minnie ‘may have been the daughter….’). Not to be a nitpicker, but c’mon; spend more than five minutes to confirm information that others may use in their own research.

Here’s to Minnie Kehoe. A woman of her own making, and definitely, not her father’s daughter.

E. Meade the Second

Here’s a new-to-me article about E. Meade Wilson II, nephew of Emmett, on his wedding day.

Meade’s grave, at St. John’s, Pensacola. Source: findagrave.com

(I was going back to check on articles about Emmett and siblings that may have been uploaded since my last database check, and came across a wedding announcement — which made me do a double-take. Emmett’s brother Meade died of TB in 1914 — and this announcement has him, listed as the son of Dr. F.C. Wilson, getting married in 1920.)

Of course, this is an error — this is actually the son of Emmett’s brother, Meade. Regardless, I love finding anything new about my family.

Here’s the wedding announcement:

Source: The Pensacola Journal, August 29, 1920.

There’s good information in the obituary. And, our Emmett is mentioned in the last paragraph, and correctly, as E. Meade the Second’s uncle.

Application for Membership

Source: Train Dispatcher’s Bulletin, 1913, Vols 18-19, p 216, via Google Docs.

Here’s information that Emmett’s youngest brother, Walker Wilson, was applying for membership in the Train Dispatcher’s Association of America (via Google docs).

Deciphering the item — S.A.L. was the Seaboard Air Lines railroad.

University of South Florida map of Seaboard Air Lines routes in and around Tampa, 1917.

Walker’s employment with the railroad was not simply a family tradition, but an important employer in the early 1900s — in contemporary terms, it is compared to working at NASA.

According to various city directory records, Walker remained with the railroad for the rest of his life, working his way up the management ladder starting as a clerk. Like his brothers Emmett and Julian, he became expert at the telegraph starting in the Chipley depot, then he was assigned to different stations and posts as his career developed over the decades.

His Death Came “As a Great Shock”

Here’s another new-to-me clipping discovered through routine checking of updated databases:

Pensacola_Journal_1920-08-05_9

Obituary of Emmett’s father in The Pensacola Journal, August 9, 1920

Emmett’s father’s obituary contains interesting information.

For example, even though Dr. Wilson had been ill for several days, his death may have been unexpected, as it was a ‘great shock.’ Dr. Wilson’s death information (from a second source) mentioned he had blood poisoning, but it didn’t indicate the source of the infection. My colleague, Donna the Nephrologist, told me that blood poisoning (also called sepsis), can turn deadly rather quickly if not treated immediately, and perhaps those treating Dr. Wilson didn’t realize what it was he had at the time.

FYI — Dr. Wilson wasn’t “officially” practicing medicine anymore in 1920; he’d retired several years earlier (before Emmett’s death in 1918) because of poor health related to a heart condition.

There’s an error in the obit:

Screen Shot 2018-11-16 at 5.19.11 AM

He was related to the Maxwells by marriage.

This part is rather confusing — actually, Dr. Wilson was married to Elizabeth Virginia Maxwell, the daughter of Judge Augustus Emmett Maxwell (Emmett was named for his grandfather). Elizabeth died in 1891, when Emmett was eight years old. (I’m not sure where the obituary writer got the idea that Dr. Wilson was a son of Maxwell’s half-sister, but it just goes to show that one has to read the old clips carefully, and check the facts.)

Kate Langley Jordan Wilson

The surviving wife (as mentioned in earlier posts) was Kate Langley Jordan Wilson, whom Dr. Wilson married about 18 months after Elizabeth’s death.

By this point, Dr. Wilson had lost three of his sons: Meade Wilson, Dr. Percy Wilson, and Emmett. Percy and Emmett died in 1918.

The last item about the sugar plantation in British Honduras has been also mentioned in earlier post, and it does cause some confusion, because at the time the Wilsons were living in Central America, the British government did not allow foreigners to own their property — and so, Dr. Wilson would have had to take an oath of allegiance to the Crown (thus revoking his American citizenship, which meant Emmett [born after the family moved to British Honduras] was a British subject, and therefore should have been disqualified from serving in Congress).

But I have seen family records stating Dr. Wilson never gave up his American citizenship, and Emmett once stated in an interview that his father only owned ‘a share’ in the plantation — not full ownership.

Still, the issue has always made me wonder. In fact, one reporter once shared in an interview that if you really wanted to piss off Emmett, ask him about whether or not he thought he was truly an American citizen or not, given his birth in British Honduras. Emmett would routinely fly off the handle and give a reporter hell about the question.

Emmett doth protest too much?

“I.M.O. Louise”

“Cephas L. Wilson, i.m.o. Louise H. Wilson.”

Such a tiny little item to stumble across, but I love finding even the tiniest crumbs of information!

Here’s what I found today:

Teeny tiny typeface, a little note in the back of an old newsletter from April, 1973!

The publication is titled “The Rancher,” a newsletter published by the Florida Sheriff’s Boys Ranch; the item on page 12 of the newsletter, which can be found at this link.

Obviously, Louise predeceased Cephas — Cephas died in 1985 in Webster, Florida, according to the U.S. Social Security Death Index. I’ve searched the cemetery records in and around Webster, Florida, for Cephas’ information, but alas, have found nothing yet. Stay tuned….

Database Update: Louise Adelaide Hughes Wilson

Here’s an update on information pertaining to Emmett’s nephew, Cephas Love Wilson, Jr., specifically Cephas’ second wife, Louise.

Screenshot from Jacksonville National Cemetery database records.

Louise Adelaide Hughes Wilson is buried in Jacksonville National Cemetery. I have not been to the cemetery yet; unfortunately, I have neither found a photo of her grave, nor have I yet found Cephas Jr.’s gravesite. I’m still in search of both.

Remembrance

In honor of Veteran’s Day, we remember and appreciate Emmett’s nephew, Cephas Love Wilson Jr.

Cephas Love Wilson, Jr. in law school. Source: 1913 Seminole, University of Florida archive.

Emmett’s siblings apparently did not serve in the U.S. military, but his nephew, Cephas Love Wilson Jr. did.

In fact, it was Cephas Jr.’s military service that eventually paved the way to a successful career in art and photography. (Cephas Sr. wanted his son to follow his footsteps into law, but it didn’t work out.)

Ceph Jr.was an ART EDITOR for this book — and — yes, his drawings are in here! Booyah!

I wrote about Cephas Jr. in earlier posts; you read more about his remarkable and interesting life here, and here.

In the meantime, if any of Cephas Jr.’s descendants would contact me, I’d love to share additional information and artifacts with them.

Tell my story.

History, Mystery, Research in Progress