Black Sheep - Feroll Moore Pyle - 52 Ancestors #20

For this week's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from blogger Amy Crow Johnson of No Story Too Small, the theme is Black Sheep. For each of the first nineteen weeks of this challenge, I have had success writing about a direct ancestor. For this theme, I thought I would write about my grandfather Pyle's second wife.

Feroll Moore was born in High Springs, Alachua County, Florida, on August 9, 1900, to Augustus and Cleone Moore. I find her in the 1910 U.S. Census with her family in Jacksonville, Florida, and in 1920 in Clearwater, Florida. By 1930, Feroll Moore is a lodger in New York City, with occupation of "Manager, Hotel."

I don't know how they met, but in August 1933, Feroll Moore married my grandfather, Charles McAlpin Pyle. According to a brief wedding announcement in the New York Times, Feroll had already been married and divorced, but I haven't found details of that.

Ancestry.com, Historical Newspapers, Birth, Marriage, & Death Announcements, 1851-2003.
Record for Charles McAlpin Pyle and Feroll Claire Moore, New York Times, p. 15, 15 Aug 1933.

This marriage didn't last long. By 1940, Charles and Feroll had separated, and in June 1941, their divorce was finalized. Supposedly in 1941, Charles married his third wife, Lucy (though I'm still looking for a primary source for that fact.) Charles died on August 17, 1966, in Washington, D.C. leaving his wife Lucy and my father as his heirs.

However...

Grandfather Charles Pyle - Different - 52 Ancestors #13

For this week's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from blogger Amy Crow Johnson of No Story Too Small, the theme is Different.

After summarizing my paternal grandmother's life last week, I thought I'd share what I know about my paternal grandfather. (No wonder they divorced; from all accounts, they were very different!)

Charlie Pyle

Charles McAlpin Pyle was born on September 6, 1893, in Morristown, New Jersey. He was the fifth child and third son of James Tolman Pyle and Frances Adelaide McAlpin. Their sixth and last child, a younger brother, was born about eight years later.

Young Charlie lived a very comfortable childhood in the family home on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan and at the family's country estate, Hurstmont, in Morristown, New Jersey.

His father's death in February 1912, hit him hard. In 1914, he enlisted in the National Guard (which I wrote about here) so that when the draft started for World War I, he was able to indicate that he had some military experience. He was part of the Calvary; he always loved horses.

On March 1, 1919, he married Elizabeth Adsit, of Chicago. They lived in New York City for several years (where they are found in the 1920 U.S. Census), at least until my father, Charles McAlpin Pyle, Jr. was born in 1924, then they moved to Morristown, New Jersey (where they are found in the 1930 U.S. Census).

Apparently he had a tough time figuring out what he wanted to do with his life. The 1917 WWI Draft Card shows an occupation of Manager at the Cyclops Steel Company in Titusville, Pennsylvania. The 1920 U.S. Census shows him living in Manhattan with an occupation of "Manager." In 1930, his occupation is listed as "Broker, Stocks." And by 1940, he is living in Ellicott City, Maryland, working as "Operator, Farm."

According to Padre Pio: The True Story, by C. Bernard Ruffin, a book about his sister, Adelia (Mary Pyle), he "tried to invent his own religion, which he called "Egoanalysis." He even wrote a book called Your Way to Happiness and made calls to the Vatican in an attempt to interest the pope in his new doctrine." However, it is doubtful his new religion brought him happiness.

His first marriage (to my grandmother, Libby) failed by 1933, and soon after his divorce, they both remarried. Charlie's second wife was Feroll Claire Moore, originally from Florida. It is believed that she married him for his money, and when she didn't get it, they soon divorced (by 1941).

The 1940 U.S. Census shows Feroll Pyle, married, living in Manhattan (with her 1935 residence as Ellicott City, Maryland). Charles Pyle, married, is living in Ellicott City, Maryland.

Lucy and Charlie, 1941

In 1941, Charlie married Lucy Buford Triplett in South Carolina. I have not found much information about her.

He was living at "Spring Hill Farm" in Ellicott City, Maryland, in April 1942, when he was required to register for the World War II draft.

By the 1960s, they were living in Washington, D.C.

Sadly, my father was estranged from his own father and was rarely in touch with him throughout his adulthood. Soon after my parents married, my mother encouraged my dad to contact his father, which he did in 1964 (during a summer heat wave, as my mother remembers it: As they drove from Massachusetts to Washington, D.C., they had to stop every so often so my pregnant mother could cool off in air-conditioned restaurants).

My grandfather, whom I never met, died at age 72 on August 17, 1966. He is buried in the Fairview Cemetery, Culpeper, Virginia.

Four years later, in December 1970, the wife he was married to the longest, Lucy, died, and was buried next to him. I still have a pearl necklace (and a note from her signed "Grandmother Lucy") that she gave me as a Christmas gift when I was very young.

I shared a death notice for my grandfather here.

See his FindAGrave memorial here.

A 1940 Census Find - Grandfather Pyle

Ancestry.com has today announced that the complete 1940 US Census is indexed and available for searching. I knew that I'd have to use an index to find my paternal grandfather, Charles McAlpin Pyle (1893 - 1966) in the 1940 US Census, and as Washington, D.C., then New Jersey, then New York became available, I looked for him, with no luck, which narrowed down the possibility to Maryland. Sure enough, he was living in Ellicott City, Maryland, where I had previously discovered he lived in 1942 (WWII Draft Registration card).

1940 U.S. Census, Ellicott City, Howard, Maryland, Roll T627_1552,
E. D. 14-4, Page 1B, lines 47-48, household of Charles M. Pyle

The census reports that Charles M. Pyle was the 12th household visited, that he owned his home, though the value of the home is not reported. "Yes" indicates that he lives on a farm. He is listed as 48 years old, and born in Maryland, though I know he was 46 in April 1940 and born in New Jersey, not Maryland. He lived in the same place in 1935. This also notes that he is married and the "7" next to the "M" is the notation that was made for married people who did not live with their spouses.

The blank between "no" representing that he did not attend school and "Maryland" for place of birth is for highest grade of school completed. Although I'm not sure, I think he completed four years of college, but it would have been interesting to confirm.

Also in the household is Walter Rouse (indexed as Kouse?), who is indexed as his brother, but if you read the word, it is his Butler! He is a 32-year-old Negro, married, and born in Maryland. He also lived in the same place in 1935.

Important to note here is that there is no circled "x" which was used in this census to record who in a household reported the information. Therefore, Charles did not report his own details, and whatever neighbor provided information to the enumerator didn't know details such as exactly how old he was, where he was born, how much schooling he had, and the value of his home.



The remaining columns of information note that both men were at work for pay during the week of March 24-30, and that Charles worked 70 hours and Walter worked 60 hours during the previous week. Charles' occupation is Operator on a Farm, and Walter's occupation is "Butler + handy man." To the right of the codes, the census tells us that they both worked 52 weeks in 1939, Charles earning $0 and Walter earning $1,040 in salary or wages. Note that the last column "Yes" represents that Charles received "income of $50 or more from sources other than money wages or salary." Because of the way their income was reported, workers "working on own account" (OA) usually didn't report salaries or wages. Any money grandfather Pyle made on the farm or from other sources falls into this category. (His butler has the code "PW" which means he was a wage or salary worker in private work.)

So this begs the question, where was his wife?

Grandfather Pyle ~ Military Monday

Charles McAlpin Pyle

My grandfather, Charles McAlpin Pyle was born in Morristown, New Jersey, on September 6, 1893. I have not yet obtained his birth certificate, but this information appears on his World War I and World War II draft registration cards.

I found all sorts of interesting information about Grandfather Pyle on his draft registration cards, both of which I found at ancestry.com.