I'm switching it up today to re-energize myself after a research hiatus. A few months back my family and I were digging through the basement of an Oregon City antique shop. Everything down there was in piles and "price negotiable." My 12 year old daughter and I came across an old notebook, the kind you'd use in class to take notes. This one was from 1926, and was the Spanish notes from a local girl who was in a first year Spanish class. How interesting, because my daughter is also a first year Spanish student! For $5 the notebook was ours, and thus began my research into the young lady who's name was on the cover. Genevieve Davey, Milwaukie Union High School, Room 102.
Genevieve Davey Gerber was born January 11, 1911 in Oregon City, Oregon. I don't know if she spent her early years there, or if it was the closest hospital, but by 1926 she was a 15 year old student at Milwaukie Union High School in Milwaukie, Oregon. 1926 was the inaugural year of the school, as the new building had opened to students for the first time on September 3, 1926. This building continued in operation until it was torn down in 2018.
Milwaukie Union High School, 1926
After graduating from high school in 1929, it appears that Genevieve moved to McMinnville where she is known to have completed two years of college. According to the census, by 1930 she was working as a live in housekeeper for a McMinnville man named Roswell Bewley. Presumably she was working for him while attending school, but she continued to work for him through the year 1940. Her income was $300 annually, and included room and board. Mr. Bewley was a 65 year old divorced man, and the address they were residing at is 410 Western St, which is an address that no longer appears to exist. However, based on maps, it most likely was located about a 2 minute walk from the household where the parents of a man named Hursel E. Carr lived. Hursel Carr was to become Genevieve's husband.
So a little background on Hursel. Hursel was born April 27, 1901 in Lafayette, Oregon. He was the child of Roscoe and Jessie Carr, and had a brother Charles who was about 8 years younger. At age 24 Hursel had married a 22 year old woman named Katherine Viola Bertram. At the time he was working as a farmer, and Katherine was working as a domestic. Their son Harry was born about a year into the marriage, but sadly within a year baby Harry had passed away. It seems this must have been quite a blow to the young family, and by 1929 Hursel had joined the military. The records are a bit fuzzy, but it seems he may have served in the marines as a corporal in WWI as well. Either way, he served again (or for the first time?) from November 1929 to November of 1932, doing time on a vessel in Manila. Whether his marriage fell apart before his service or after is unknown, but either way, the marriage to Katherine had ended by 1935.
By 1938, Hursel had moved back in with his parents at their home in McMinnville, which was located at 325 South Davis Street.
325 South Davis Street, McMinnville, Oregon.
While living with his parents, Hursel was employed as a police officer making $84/week ($1,440 annually). Within a year or so he was back on his own, living at 434 Cowls Street in McMinnville. He would have been about 37 years old, and presumably while working or recreating in the area he crossed paths with Genevieve, who would have been in her late 20s and still working for Mr. Bewley. Certainly by 1941 they had made their acquaintance, because they were married by a Baptist minister in Vancouver, Washington on October 16 of that year. From here, there isn't much we know about their relationship. But at some point in the marriage before 1949 the couple had relocated to Portland, where they resided at 2769 SW Troy Street, #20.
2769 SW Troy Street, Portland, Oregon
While living in Portland, Genevieve was working full time as a transit operator for a bank. Hursel was no longer a police officer, but was working 63 hours a week as a retail coffee salesman. They never had any children, and while we don't know what happened, we do know that at some point in time the couple divorced. Hursel relocated to Corbett, Oregon and worked in construction. This is where he died in 1961 at age 60 of a cerebral hemorrhage. Genevieve meanwhile continued to work in banking. She spent many years working for First Interstate Bank in Gresham, retiring in 1975. She spent the rest of her life living in a rural area of Boring, Oregon.
Genevieve passed away November 14, 1999. She is buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Oregon City, Section D, Block 18, Lot 11, Grave D. Sadly, I have been unable to locate any photos of her or of Hursel. But we do have her Spanish notes, and her doodles, which have been a pleasure to read.
Sources:
US Census records
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