November 2008 – Edition 43

As is our tradition, we try to release the November and
December editions early so you can share it around
the holiday table. Otherwise, we release on the last
Thursday of the month.

The Group Photo. Sandra Walcyk, from the
Jerrems
Wappenham line, has provided research into the
Jerrems family; her research has been featured
several times this year. Above is a wonderful
photograph which Sandra has recently located.

The people (all in their “Sunday best”) are, from left to
right: Anna S. Jerrems Kirkwood (Sandra’s
great
grandmother), her daughter Sarah Jane (Sadie)
Kirkwood (Sandra’s great aunt), her daughter
Mary
Catherine Kirkwood (Sandra’s grandmother), and
husband William Henry Kirkwood I (Sandra’s
great
grandfather).

The estimated date of the photo is 1905 and it would
have been taken in Utica, New York State.

Anna’s origins. Anna came from what we have
dubbed the “Wappenham” line of the Jerrems
families. Her father Joseph Jerrams/Jerrems was
born in Wappenham, Northamptonshire, in 1814 and
migrated to the US with his wife Sarah in the 1840’s.
Sandra, with the help of Ray Lloyd, has traced
that
family back to Joseph and Mary Jerroms, Joseph
having been born in 1690. This is, incidentally, several
decades earlier than we have traced the
Gainsborough line.

Anna’s vital statistics. Anna was born on 6
March
1859, married William Henry Kirkwood on 30
June
1880, and died on 13 January 1929, all these events
taking place in Utica. Her areas of residence were
Clinton, New Hartford & Utica, NY and her occupations
(as shown on Censuses etc) were “Domestic
Servant” when she was single and “Homemaker” after
she was married.

Regarding Anna’s husband William, he was
born on
10 Apr, 1859 and died on 5 June 1945 (all in Utica).
His occupations were: Laborer, Coachman,
Storehouse Keeper, and Shipping Clerk.

Anna’s children. Anna and William’s children
were
Julia, William Henry II, Anna Sylvia, Ella Noreen,
Sarah
Jane (Sadie) (The photo above is a later
photo
of Sarah.), Emma Louise, and the
youngest was Sandra’s grandmother Mary
Catherine
(also in the photo). A total of 6 daughters and one son
(a new record for the Jerrems families as regards the
ratio of girls to boys).

Moving to modern days, Anna S. Jerrems
Kirkwood
has at least 53 living descendants, including her great
granddaughter, Sandra. Also, many other
living relatives are descended from Anna’s sister
Sarah C. Jerrems Breisch, including another
JJ Reader, Sarah Papageorge, who is Anna’s
2nd great grandniece.

An episode in Anna’s childhood. We have a
charming
story about Anna when she was a small girl, but first I
need to give you some background information to give
you the context of the story.

Sadly, Anna was orphaned in Utica at the age of six
after her mother died from TB. She was taken in by
Oren and Nancy Root, who lived in the nearby
town of
Clinton. Oren was a professor, and later one
son
became a professor also. The other son (Elihu
Root)
later became one of the most brilliant administrators
in American history. Starting off as a prominent lawyer
in New York City he was appointed a Secretary of
State, was elected to the US Senate and was awarded
the Nobel Peace Prize.

Theirs was clearly an elite family in the Clinton
community.

Oren and Nancy Root lived a conservative upper
middle class existence in a comfortable house set
amongst sheep paddocks which over a period of
years they developed into showpiece gardens. Anna
the little working class girl grew up until her early
teens in this peaceful setting, while her foster father
taught at nearby Hamilton College and her
foster
mother organised the household and entertained
friends.

It was against this backdrop that one day we find
Anna, as a little girl. In her garden explorations she
had found a nest of baby mice, so she proudly
gathered them up in her apron and took them into the
drawing room to show Mrs Root, who was
entertaining lady friends. One can imagine the friends’
consternation at this sight! Old cartoons showing prim
panic-stricken ladies standing on chairs, holding up
their long skirts and shrieking “A mouse” immediately
come to mind.

Sandra has a lot more information about her
ancestors which will appear in later Journals, with
more photos. Meanwhile we leave you with the photo
and an outline of Anna’s early life as part of
our “Remember Me” series.

Do you remember me?
I am a silver cup presented to William George
Jerrems l by his children to celebrate his 60th
birthday. I am about 6 inches tall and I was
manufactured by…well I can’t remember.

I don’t blame you for not remembering me, because
the Jerrems Journal staff only heard of me a few
months ago.

The following is an outline of William’s life, supplied
by Ray Jerrems. I tried to write an article myself, but
Ray said he would write it instead because he said
that as a writer I am definitely a “mug”. So here is
Ray’s version.

Who was William George Jerrems l?

William was one of the children of “Big Bill”
Jerrems and Elizabeth Jerrems (nee Jepson)
and was born in Gainsborough (England) on 3rd
June 1843. In the late 1850s he travelled by sailing
ship to Melbourne (Australia) with his mother and
siblings to join his father Thomas and his
oldest brother Thomas.
William married Mary Nicoll in Victoria and
later they settled in Sydney where they had four
children (William George born 1869, Hellen
born 1870, Arthur born 1872, and
Alexander born 1874).

In 1875 the family left Australia for ever, going by
sailing ship across the Pacific Ocean to San
Francisco and then by train most probably to New
York. In New York (and later in Pennsylvania) William
would have worked for his father-in-law Alexander
Nicoll, who had built up a chain of tailoring stores
called “Nicoll the Tailor”.

The family may then have moved to England for about
4 years, where Mae (born 1879) and Annie Letitia
(born 1882) were born. The family then moved
back to the US, setting up house in Chicago, where
Donald was born in 1885. At about this time
William’s father-in-law Alexander Nicoll
decided to retire, and closed over half of his 52
stores. In 1886 he sold his New York and Eastern
branch stores to his son Donald Nicoll and
his Chicago and other Western branch stores to his
son-in-law William.

The stores were very successful and the family lived
comfortably in Chicago. They travelled overseas
frequently and, when they were not travelling, spent
the summer holidays at fashionable locations.
William, Mary and their older children were prominent
in Chicago society, and William was a member of
some of the big Chicago Clubs. Three of the boys
(Arthur, Alexander and Donald) studied at University;
however William George ll left school quite early and
settled into managing one of the major Chicago
stores by the time he was 21.

What is inscribed on the cup?

The names of William’s children, in order of birth, are
on one side of the cup. On the other side of the cup
are the names of one of his grand children (William
George lll) and one of his great grandchildren (William
George lV). Obviously these were added later.

Where was it presented, and who was present at
the time?

The cup would no doubt have been presented to
William in Chicago, either at a function at his current
home in 4917 Greenwood Avenue, Chicago or at one
of his Clubs.

There would have been a large contingent of relatives
present. In addition to William’s wife Mary
and the seven children referred to above (Annie
would have recently returned after graduating from the
Ogontz School for Young Ladies, and may have invited
her husband-to-be, Mark Healy) the current
spouses of the married children (Genevieve,
wife of William George ll, Mary, wife of Arthur, and
another Mary, wife of Alexander) would have
attended. Two of the three grandchildren born at that
stage (Marabel and Arthur Jnr) would have
been too young to attend the actual function, but
William George ll’s daughter Marjorie (almost 5 years
old) would have been old enough if the function was
held at the family home. William’s father-in-law
Alexander and Alexander’s son Donald
(and Donald’s family) would have come down
from New York.

What happened to William George Jerrems l?

Sadly, William passed away about two years later on
4th or 5th May 1905. It is not clear where he died. His
obituary says he died at his house at Greenwood
Avenue, Chicago, but another source says he died at
Lick Springs, Indiana. His wife Mary outlived him by a
considerable period, dying with a considerable estate
in 1928.

Is it a cup or a jug?

When you look at the photos it is difficult to decide
whether it is a cup or a jug. With three handles there
was plenty to grab onto. It is chubbier than the
usual “cup” so perhaps we could call it a jug.

Where is the Cup now?

William George V (known universally as Jerry V) has
the cup. He lives in Idaho.

Our December issue will continue to show items of
interest. We welcome your contributions.

And Ray and I are working on a Jerrems Family
Quiz. So start to study the back issues.