The August 2016 meeting of the Madison County Genealogical Society was held at the Edwardsville Public Library on Thursday, August 11, at 7:00 pm.
President, Robert Ridenour, called the meeting to order.
The following is the Treasurer's report for the month of June:
The following is
the Treasurer's report for the month of July:
Do you have a family member that
is interested in (or even obsessed with) genealogy? A membership
in the Madison County Genealogical Society would be a very thoughtful
gift. A gift card will be sent to the recipient of any gift membership.
The following memberships are available:
Individual/Family Annual Membership $20.00
Patron Annual Membership $30.00
Life Membership $250.00
Contact our Secretary, Petie Hunter, at [email protected],
about a gift membership.
On August 11, 2016, Cheryl Eichar Jett, Subject Specialist in the Genealogy Room of the St. Louis Public Library, presented The Search for My Brother's Son. This is the true family story of Cheryl's half-brother, Grant Eugene Eichar Elgin Illinois "Boy of the Year," Eagle Scout, RAF Eagle Squadron Pilot Officer, more than 30 years older than Cheryl; of Cheryl and Grant's father, Gene Eichar musician, silent film and vaudeville accompanist, and educator; and how Cheryl found and met Grant's son, Jim, in 2015.
PART ONE Our father, Frank
Eugene Eichar "Gene" (1892-1983)
Our father, Frank Eugene Eichar, always known simply as "Gene,"
was born November 28, 1892, in Clarksville, Iowa, a small town
in Butler County. His parents were Frank George Eichar and Eva
Delia Higgins Eichar, and he had an older sister, Hazel Gladys,
born in 1890. The Eichars had come to Iowa from Pennsylvania,
and originally from Bavaria in the 1700s. The lineage of Eva Delia
Higgins, Gene's mother, traced back through numerous female generations
to the Alden, Mullins, and Standish families of Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Many ancestors served in the Revolutionary War, and Eva's own
father, Freeman Higgins, had served with the Iowa Infantry in
the Civil War.
In those days, piano teachers came to the student's home to give
lessons, and a piano teacher was engaged to come to the Eichar
home to give lessons to Gene's sister, Hazel, who was two years
older than Gene. So the story goes, Hazel did well at her lessons
and, over the years, became a fine player. But the other part
of the story is, that Gene would sit nearby, taking it all in.
As soon as the lesson ended and the instructor and Hazel left
the piano, Gene would sit down at the instrument and repeat the
entire lesson. Within a few years, the sister-and-brother act
of Hazel and Gene were performing at the local theaters, singing
and playing. In 1906, at the age of 14, Gene began accompanying
silent movies and before long was on the road throughout Iowa,
accompanying silent movies in various movie houses.
His roots seemed to remain in Iowa, although he also spent some
time in Chicago. There, he attended the VanderCook College of
Music. He traveled the Midwest, and spent periods of time back
home with his parents. In the 1910 federal census, his occupation
was listed as "musician" and his industry as "theater
orchestra."
In Iowa, Gene married Lucy May Grant about 1912, and they had
two children, Grant Eugene in 1915, and Clover Gladys in 1917.
Lucy May Grant was the granddaughter of James O. Grant, a Civil
War Veteran who also happened to be second cousin of General Ulysses
S. Grant.
PART TWO My brother, Grant Eugene Eichar "Grant"
(1915-1942)
My half-brother, Grant Eugene Eichar, was born April 20, 1915,
in Marshalltown, Iowa, to Frank Eugene Eichar and Lucy May Grant
Eichar. Our sister, Clover Gladys, was born December 22, 1917,
also in Iowa. But by 1920, the family was living in Chicago, where
Gene was no doubt still working as a musician. By 1930, Lucy and
the two children, Grant and Clover, were living in Elgin, Illinois,
and Lucy and Gene's marriage was over.
In the 1930s, several events occurred which seemed to have influenced
and molded Grant. The first was the opening, formal dedication,
and big celebration of the Elgin Airport on June 10, 1930. A description
of the event stated that: "Among the 77 planes on hand were
30 flown in by the U.S. Army Air Corps and six by the Navy. H.H.
(Hap) Arnold who would become commander of the Army Air Force
in the Second World War, led the flight of Army planes from Wright
Field at Dayton, Ohio. A crowd of thousands witnessed demonstrations
of aerial maneuvering and a parachute jump. Rides in oil company
aircraft were available for the daring. I don't know for a fact
that Grant was there that day, but I can't, as his life turned
out, imagine that he wasn't. I'd like to think that he was, anyway.
The next event that I believe was instrumental in his life was
on Friday, February 13, 1931, in Elgin. On that day, Grant was
made Eagle Scout after many years of Scouting. Grant was also
named "Boy of the Year" for his "courage, honor,
leadership, service, and scholarship" by the Elgin American
Legion.
In 1934, Grant graduated from Elgin High School, and the next
year, on May 1, 1935, he married Maxine Dora Elliott. On October
23, 1937, their son James was born. Grant's marriage to Maxine
did not last, and in 1940, the census places him in Elgin, employed
at McGraw Company, and married to Delores V. Woith, his second
wife.
The relationship of Grant and Delores did not last long, and Grant
married Vernette C. Anderson. Grant and Delores' son, Richard
Donald Eichar, was born in Elgin on July 23, 1941.
About the same time, on August 1, 1941, the old RAF Eagle Squadron,
which had existed briefly at the end of World War I, was reformed.
It was planned that it would be comprised of American personnel
who were joining up. The squadron was equipped with Hurricanes
and was operational by the end of September. They moved to Ireland
for several months, then back to England at Lincolnshire, and
finally settled in at Biggin Hill, near London, in May 1942. The
squadron's first sweep over France had taken place in April. In
June, the Supermarine Spitfire BM646 Mk VB airplanes, built at
Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory, were delivered and assigned
to the 133 Squadron.
In St. Eugene, Ontario, Grant took his pilot's training. He was
certified as "First Pilot" on September 25, 1941. By
the end of November 1941, he was located at the #56 OTU at Sutton
Bridge, Lincolnshire, England. He trained on the Hurricanes, but
eventually flew Spitfires when they were assigned to the squadron.
During that winter, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. And during
that winter, back in Elgin, Grant and Vernette's baby son, Richard
Donald Eichar, died.
In May, Grant arrived at the Biggin Hill base. According to Grant's
Officer's Commission Script, Grant was officially made Pilot Officer
in the Special Reserve of the Royal Canadian Air Force on June
22, 1942. He flew wing support and sweeps throughout July.
Captain Richard "Dixie" Alexander, who went on to become
a much-decorated WWII flyer, was interviewed years later for a
book about Grant, and he said, "Ike was my roommate, and
just a real fine person to live with. He was quiet, had an easy
sense of humor, and was really not as shy as he outwardly appeared
to be. He was good fun."
On July 26, Grant recorded in his pilot logbook the details of
the day: "Wing Fighter sweep. Gravelines to St. Omer St.
Ingleret. 12,000'. (heavy flack and very close) Landed at Lympe
to refuel."
On July 28, he noted: "Wing Fighter sweep. Support wing Etritat
Fecamp. 15000' 24,000'. Lots of Huns no attack."
On July 31, before takeoff, he noted only: "Sweep to Abbeville."
There was no notation of the details after arriving back at Biggin
Hill, because he did not arrive back at Biggin Hill.
That was a bad day for the 133 Squadron, as they lost three pilots
that day, its worst combat loss in a day. The three were Carter
Woodruff Harp, a former wing walker; Coburn Clark King, an experienced
ferry pilot and RCAF flight instructor; and Grant Eugene Eichar.
They had been intercepted by German FW190s on the return trip
from escorting Boston Bombers to Abbeville.
Grant and other pilots are remembered and honored at Runnymede,
Surrey, England. Grant's memorial at Englefield Green is listed
as Pilot Officer, Service #J/15650, Royal Canadian Air Force,
service country Canada, Panel 100 grave/memorial reference.
PART THREE In the meantime
By the time Grant was killed at age 26 over the English Channel,
on July 31, 1942, our father, Gene, had married a dancer named
Fern. Together, they had established a dance studio in Beloit,
Wisconsin, named the FernandGene Studio. That marriage was on
the rocks when a lovely young woman living and working in Beloit
signed up in November 1936 for ballroom dance lessons. That young
woman was my mother, Charlotte Estelle Hanson. She and my father
fell in love, and married in January 1937. My mom was a few months
shy of her 18th birthday. My father was 44. They lived in Beloit
for a while and then began building a house and dance and music
studio, assisted by his father, Frank, at Williams Bay, Wisconsin.
My dad christened the house the "Chateau Charlotte."
My dad always seemed to have itchy feet, and I'm not sure that
the studio pulled in enough income to support the new home in
a resort community. Next they went to Rockford, Illinois, where
they opened a music studio and retail music store, with Wurlitzer
pianos..
In 1940, my father's father, my Grandpa Frank Eichar, had a lengthy
illness and then passed away. No one seemed to have any insurance
or savings, and my parents were financially ruined. This time
they moved farther south, to Springfield, Illinois, where they
established a popular music studio.
They were in Springfield when the news arrived in 1942 that Grant
had gone down and was MIA. The scroll of his Officer's Commission
Script was rolled up and shipped in a cardboard tube from Ottawa,
Canada, on November 28, 1942, and received in the mail by our
father soon afterwards. The next year, in June 1943, a report
was filed by the American Foreign Service in Ottawa, Canada, "Report
of the Death of an American Citizen," which stated that Grant
was "missing July 31, 1942, now presumed dead for official
purposes." A copy of this report was mailed on July 14, 1943,
to Mrs. G. E. Eichar at 420 Breck Street, Elgin, IL. Mrs. G. E.
Eichar was Grant's third wife, Vernette, who became the official
widow. On December 1, 1945, Vernette remarried, to James A. Ginnell.
We moved a few more times and ended up in Litchfield in 1958,
which was the last city that my mother and dad moved to. In the
1970s, as my dad was growing old, he expressed a wish to reconnect
with my half-sister, Clover. My mother was finally able to contact
Clover. She was living in West Palm Beach, Florida. She had been
married to a musician for many years, a drummer named Larry Cheverette,
but he was no longer living. There were no children. Clover and
Grant's mother, Lucy, was still alive and was also living in Florida.
On a trip to Illinois to visit old friends, Clover planned to
visit us in Litchfield. By this time, I was married and had two
small children. Clover drove to the house and I met her for the
first, and only, time. It had been many years since Clover and
our father had even seen each other. They had both grown old and
of course only remembered each other as they had each once looked.
Oddly, although Clover and Gene were not terribly satisfied with
their meeting, Charlotte and Clover struck up a friendship, and
they kept in touch after Clover returned to Florida. They spoke
occasionally on the phone, and exchanged letters and cards. Clover
sometimes mentioned her nephew, Grant's son Jim. Jim had been
adopted by Maxine's third husband, Emery Tennison. Jim had also
been married several times, and had lived in Virginia and Texas.
I remember when Charlotte told me that Clover had told her that
Jim had married again, this time to a "lady preacher"
in Virginia.
It would have been easy enough, I suppose, to inquire how to reach
Jim. A phone number. A mailing address. I could have sent a short
letter or a card. But I didn't. I had a young family and a husband.
Then my father was ill for several years, finally leaving us in
1983.
PART FOUR The search for Jim Tennison
My father had passed in 1983, and his first wife Lucy in Florida
about the same time. My mother passed in 2011, and sister Clover
just before that. I have two wonderful adult children, and many
cousins, but otherwise, there was the realization that my family
was gone. That's when I started thinking again about Grant's son,
my nephew, Jim Tennison. I started Googling, researching places
I thought they had lived. I knew his name and his age, but not
where he currently lived or what he looked like. I had never seen
a photo of him.
I'd like, as a relatively serious historian and genealogist, to
be able to tell you about painstaking research in libraries and
other institutions, to find Jim. But I was lucky. First, I found
a Jim Tennison on Google Plus with one photo of a young boy who
looked an awful lot like young-boy photos of Grant Eichar, plus
a young girl who likely was a sister. On the Google Plus page,
there was a wife's name Ramona Tennison. Next, a search on Facebook
produced a Ramona Tennison with a Facebook friend named Jim Tennison.
A click to Jim Tennison's page, and there on my laptop screen
was the image of a yellowed newspaper clipping with a photo of
Pilot Officer Grant Eichar! I knew I had the right person, and
that also meant that Jim Tennison knew who his biological father
was! Facebook chat and emails reached a surprised, maybe stunned,
Ramona and Jim Tennison! The surname "Eichar," which
is not common, certainly had to be a blast from the distant past
for them. Tentative conversation turned into a flow of information,
memories, and hopes for a real, in-person meeting.
The realization of those hopes occurred on Sunday, August 9, 2015,
when Jim and Ramona, and dog Bonnie, came to my house to visit.
It was a very sweet Eichar reunion, with plans for another visit
at their home in Oceanside, California, in November 2016.
Jim and Ramona have become beloved family members as we've kept
in touch and gotten to know each other better. Ramona indeed was
a "lady preacher." I hope she'll forgive me for relaying
that comment! She served as a women's pastor in Virginia, and
has authored numerous books. She is currently formulating plans
for a children's book. Jim had several careers, including newspaper
reporter and professional photographer. They each have children
and grandchildren from previous marriages. And Jim and I, of course,
compared Eichar traits and found we are indeed related respiratory
issues, a prevailing sense of humor, the tendency to marry several
times, and musical ability Jim did tap dance, piano, and trumpet
as he grew up.
If you want to read a little more, I wrote a long blog post entitled
"A fairy tale genealogical story?" in August 2015, which
you can find on my blog site (www.route66chick.blogspot.com).
Also, this story will appear in the November-December issue of
Illinois Heritage, a publication of the Illinois State historical
Society.
So my search, when I finally began, turned out to be an easy one.
The difficult part for me was to finally do it. This is a true
story, and none of the names were changed. The moral to this story?
That love and family transcend generations, even when estrangement,
divorces, or a death at a far too young age intervene. Never give
up the search, if you have one to make.
This presentation was very well received and provoked many questions
and comments.