Our Family Tree |
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In 1970, after the birth of our first child, we decided to trace our daughter's family roots. We interviewed living parents, and grandparents, searched family bibles, and did research in the National Archives in Washington, DC. All the interviews resulted only in names and a few dates up to and including most of their great-grandparents. James Bullock, whose family dates back to the beginnings of America, didn't know anything about his grandparents. He was the youngest child and never knew them. During the next forty years, we interviewed aunts and uncles, even writing to Great Aunt Liv in Norway. We shared our information with our family, who in turn shared more stories and photos. We updated the tree whenever new information was found, but a major breakthrough didn't occur until 2010 when another visit to the National Archives found more information in the 1930 census. By this time, the internet was the main search tool and we decided to begin a new search there. We found a book called The Pound and Kester Families complied by John E Hunt in 1904, on Google Books, which mentioned his grandparents on his father's side. This opened a wealth of information. We then found a Marotta family tree on Ancestry.com that belonged to a very distant relative. He kindly shared his information with us which opened a flow of information from Sicily. James Bullock had no contact with his siblings for many years and we did not know of any cousins on that side of his family. During our research of James' brother Walter, a 1940-50's Hollywood composer, we found a reference to a great nephew, voice actor Scott Bullock on the Internet Movie Database. After contacting him, we found our missing cousins! ~<^>~ |
This tree is a compilation of the information found in books, on the net, from family stories & bibles and from many folks. Much of the information was found on free open websites. We wish to thank cousin Åse, who shared her research with us, but requested it only be accessible to family members; The National Archives of Norway; Antenati, the Italian Archives; the late Roy Clasen; John L; cousin Santo Marotta; cousin Monta for her editing; and FamilySearch.org, a free genealogy search program provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We suggest you mouse over the photos to see more info about them. A special Thank You must be given to the Italian Genealogical Records group on Facebook. They have been a great help in translating both the Italian and Latin records. This group is dedicated to Italian records and exploring various sources when discussing Italian genealogy. For those of you who have taken a DNA test, look to see if you are related to us and let us know. We tested with both FamilyTreeDNA and 23andMe. Of these two, we highly recommend 23andMe. If you are interested in taking a DNA test, check out DNA Weekly. It will help you decide which company is best for your needs. |
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James Russell Lowell Bullock was born blind on October 4, 1909 in the town of Shelburn in Curry Township, Sullivan County, Indiana. In the summer of 1915, when Jim was only five years old, he began his musical career with the Chautauqua Circuit and was billed as a child prodigy. This was an organization that put on travelling shows that set up large tents, for a week at a time, and provided educational lectures, musical performances and various other types of culture. These were very big events in rural areas. There must have been a piano at home for Jim to develop this ability. On October 1, 1915, when James was just turning six years old, he began his first term at the Indiana State School for the Blind (pctured below right) along with older his sister, Mary who was also blind and had attended the school since 1913. Here he continued his musical education and developed lifetime friendships with Manford Skinny Sumner, Ray Dinsmore, Bill Nottingham and Fletcher Smith. Twice in April and once in May of 1916, the Sullivan newspapers reported Jim played in what was billed as the Shelburn Sunday School Chautauqua. In March of 1920 the local Sullivan and Farmersburg newspapers printed: “The following feature story concerning James Bullock, son of Mrs. Loretta Bullock, of Shelburn, recently appeared in an Indianapolis paper: ‘Hats off to James Bullock, 10, little sightless student at the State Blind institution, who patiently practices his lesson on the piano, and in spite of his physical deficiency has won a. reputation as a musical student. On June 1, 1922, Jim played piano in a Brass Quartette for the Indiana State School for the Blind’s Closing Concert. Later that same year on December 29, The Sullivan Daily Times reported, “Miss Mary Bullock, and her brothers, James and Walter Bullock, who formerly resided in Carlisle, are to give a musical concert in the school auditorium tonight . . .and the three have a wonderful reputation as good musicians.” On June 2, 1924, he again played piano in a trio with his sister Mary on violin for her Graduating Closing Concert at the Indiana State School for the Blind. Jim left the school prior to the 1927-28 term beginning and did not graduate, so his education ended when he was seventeen. We don’t know what he did during this time, but part of it was probably playing piano for silent movies, which we know he did at some time. Since he could not see, he would have someone whisper in his ear what was happening on the screen and he would play the appropriate background music. Since 1925, Loretta was living in Indianapolis. On the 1928 Indianapolis City Directory, Jim is living with his mother and sister Marie at 510 East North St in an apartment. His occupation is listed as lab (directory abbreviation for laborer). In mid 1928, he and older brother Walter heard that Indianapolis radio station WFBM was holding auditions. They never thought they would get the job, but decided to go on a lark and sing an off-color song, something like Dirty Gertie. To their great surprise they passed the audition, probably because of their sense of humor and outgoing personalities, not to mention their considerable musical abilities. Of course, they could not sing songs like that on the air. Radio was starting to come into its own. Jim and Walter soon had a regular show in which they played and sang live – recorded music was still fairly rare. The Jim and Walt radio show was a great success and in 1929 they had several shows a week with varying formats. (Mouse over photo left.) In 1930, the US census shows them living at home in Indianapolis with their mother and two sisters with their occupations listed as singers on radio. The 1930 Indianapolis City Directory has Jim, Loretta, Mary and Walter living at 2233 North New Jersey St., a single-family house community. Jim’s occupation is listed as broadcaster and Walter’s as asst adv mgr (assistant advertising manager). The 1931 city directory has them all living at 2225 N Ala, which presumably is North Alabama St., in another single family area. Jim, Walt and Mary’s occupations are listed as musician. On May 5, 1931, Jim and Walt moved on to radio station WLW in Cincinnati, Ohio, and had a show there. WLW was one of the pioneers of radio and had the highest power of any station in the country. Very soon after they started there, they were inundated with fan mail from many states and also were in great demand for public appearances. Their personalities were as much a part of their act as their music. One time, with Walter directing, blind Jim drove Walter’s convertible Buick Sedan to the station – a distance of about 2 miles! Sometime around then, Jim married a woman named Zelda. (Mouse over image right.) In the 1932 Cincinnati City Directory, Jim is living with his wife Zelda, brother Walt and their mother Loretta at 3910 King Place, a four bedroom house in the north side of Cincinnati. Jim and Walt are both listed as vocalists in this directory.
Jim connected with Ray Dinsmore, a fellow alumnus of the Indian School for the Blind. They formed a trio in which Jim played accordion and Ray played tenor guitar. The third member was a saxophonist – probably either a man known as Skinny (Manford Sumner) or possibly Ron Lampard. Ray, being partially sighted, was the leader of the group. This was during Prohibition and they played at New York speakeasies as well as weddings, receptions and the like. They also got a concession to play on the Staten Island Ferry. Around 1937 Ray expanded the group to eight musicians, all blind, when there was an opportunity for a spot in the Federal Arts Program of the WPA ( mouse over photo left). This group included other Alumni of the Indiana School for the Blind. Skinny was a member and possibly Ron Lampard as well. For two years they had a 25 minute radio show four days a week as well as many other engagements, including venues in Harlem where Jim associated with the likes of the Mills Brothers and Fats Waller. On March 21, 1939, Zelda gave birth to a son, William Lowell Bullock, who was baptized on January 14, 1940, at the Irving Square Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, NY. On October 16, 1940, Jim was registered, as blind, for the draft in Brooklyn. They were living at 178 Schaeffer St and his wife is listed as Zelda C. Bullock. On the edge of the card, written in a different ink, is another address, 254 Cooper St. Five years later, in April 1946, Jim and Zelda’s names were removed from the Irving Square Church. We know that Jim and Zelda separated and were legally divorced on May 11, 1948, but we do not know exactly when they separated. It could be that sometime after he registered for the draft, he found out William wasn’t his son, and left the marriage, moving to the Cooper St address. Jim had no contact with William or his mother again. Jim’s surviving relatives only knew that William wasn’t his son. Jim met Ella June Strom Slater, known as June, while he was playing piano and she was a waitress in a restaurant in upstate New York called Nino’s. They apparently moved to Indianapolis and were married on May 14, 1948, in Richmond, Wayne County, Indiana. They moved back to New York and set-up home in an apartment on Third Avenue in Bay Ridge Brooklyn around the corner from June’s mother Else and stepfather John Johnsen and within walking distance of others in June’s Norwegian family. June had two daughters, Carole and Joyce, from a previous marriage. Jim and June had two additional children. (Mouse over image right.) They purchased a home on West 7th St in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn and Jim supported his family singing and playing accordion on the New York City subway system. An idea of Jim’s magnetic personality can be illustrated by the fact that the bank gave him a mortgage based on income from an illegal activity! He did very well, because he was such a good musician. They had a new car every few years and ate out, went to amusement parks, etc. At least once a year, they would go to Coney Island where Jim and June would eat clams on the half shell and drink while the kids went on rides. Jim and June frequently had musicians over the house, all blind, many of them from the Dinsmore band. There was much music and partying and life was good. Once, Jim and several blind friends, all who had sighted wives, were on an outing together in a large station wagon (June driving) when it got a flat tire. The women all went off to find a bathroom while the men changed the tire. A policeman stopped to offer assistance, which they said they didn’t require. The policeman took a good look at them, paused to think, and finally asked, “Who was driving?” Blindness was never a handicap for Jim as much as a challenge; he was quite independent. He knew the New York Subways perfectly and could take you anywhere in the city without assistance.
James Russell Lowell Bullock, a lifetime smoker, died of emphysema on May 19, 1983, in the nursing home at the age of 73, and is buried in Oaklawn Cemetery in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. |
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After her separation she worked as a waitress in a restaurant in upstate New York called Nino’s. There she met and fell in love with James Russell Lowell Bullock, a blind musician. Throughout their lives, Nino’s was very special to them. The owner, Nino, was considered a good friend and it became a tradition that the family would drive there every time they got a new car. In May of 1948 June and Jim both obtained divorces in Indiana from their spouses and were married on May 14th of that year in Richmond, Wayne County, Indiana. Their marriage license states they were living in Indianapolis at the time. They moved back to NY City and settled in Brooklyn. They had two children; see Jim’s story above for details of the children and their married life. After they moved to Bensonhurst, in Brooklyn, mother Else convinced June to allow Carole to live with her for a while, as four children and a blind husband would be too much for her to handle. So Carole went off to live with Grandma and visited the family every now and then. June found three children easier to raise, but missed her first born child, and maybe even resented her mother for taking her. (Carole eventually came home, but married soon after.) June raised her other children in the Lutheran church, sending the two younger ones to their church’s new Lutheran Elementary School. Her children grew up and married and June was helping her second daughter Joyce raise her daughter Annette. They lived in the same apartment building in Brooklyn. In 1969, on the day of her child's wedding, June had a severe headache. The following week, she began having severe back pain. It took three months for her many doctors to diagnose that she had a brain aneurysm which burst, sending blood down her spine causing severe pain. She had to quit working and go on disability, as there were
June became more forgetful and began having kidney problems and had to be placed in an assisted care facility. Her youngest child moved her to Austin, Texas in late 2002. She lived in Heritage Duval Gardens, where her youngest child was a volunteer. Her health, both physical and mental, deteriorated. After twelve shunt operations failed, June decided to end all dialysis and operations because her quality of life became sleeping and recovering. She had about a month of good quality of life before she died, although her short-term memory was almost non-existent. Near the end, she told her youngest child that "she should get off the boat before it leaves, because she could not go with her where the boat was headed." She said she "was going on a trip with Carole," her eldest daughter who had died of ALS fours years prior. Ella June Strom Slater Bullock died peacefully on May 11, 2003, Mother's Day at 10:45am in Austin, Travis County, Texas, just short of 80 years old. |
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A year later on April 25, 1919, Harry married Else Wiik in Manhattan, New York City, New York. They both worked in Nassau County at the Mineola Links Club. He was a waiter, she a chambermaid. He went to California and Else joined him there later. They returned to Glen Cove, Nassau County, New York, where Else gave birth to daughter June in 1923. The 1925 New York State Census shows Harry as a 30 year-old carpenter living with his wife and two-year old daughter Ella, at 6911 4th Avenue in Brooklyn. He did not fully raise his daughter June as five years after she was born, Harry and Else began divorce proceedings on April 3, 1928, in Miami, Dade County, Florida. Harry was granted an uncontested divorce on the grounds of Desertion. She was listed as living in Brooklyn and he in Florida. No alimony was asked and in the section marked No. of minor children affected by decree, it says None! Either they just agreed that the divorce would be faster if they didn't mention their daughter, or maybe Ella was not Harry's child! The divorce was recorded a month later on May 5th. Three days after the divorce proceedings began, Harry obtained a marriage license on April 6th and on April 8th, he married Aagot Marie Hansen in Dade County, Florida. Being that the divorce and marriage took place in the same area, at the same time, it seems that Harry went to Florida sometime prior to 1928, leaving his wife Else and daughter in Brooklyn. Harry and Else were probably separated for several years when he met Aagot, as it should have taken some time for Harry to meet, fall in love with, and decide he wanted to marry her. Two years after his second marriage, the 1930 census has him listed as a married roomer living in the household of Marine Gonzalez (probably a boarding house) in Manhattan, working as a butler for a family. What is odd is that his wife is not listed with him. The census also states that he has an application for citizenship pending. Sometime after this, they headed south to Georgia. Arvid Harold Strom died in an automobile accident on Forrest Rd in Atlanta, Georgia on June 10, 1931, at 11:45pm. His death certificate is registered in Fulton County and states he was married and living at 1196 Springdale Rd, which is a large home on an acre of land, probably where he worked, probably as a butler. He was buried in West View Cemetery (mouse over pictured left) in Atlanta the next day. His wife signed the certificate simply as Mrs. A. H. Strom. |
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Erik Harald Ström was born on January 1, 1869, in Skönberga, Östergötland, Sweden. He married Anna Elisabet Peterson, who was born on November 22, 1871, in Norrköpings Hedvig, Östergötland, Sweden. It is not known when and where they married but their first three children were born in Norrköpings Sankt Olai, Östergötland, Sweden, and their last four in Örebro Nikolai, Örebro, Sweden. Today, these towns are less than a two-hour drive apart. Their children were as follows – Olof Harald born on November 20, 1891, and died in Sweden; Brita Wilhelmain Elisabet born on June 26, 1893; ancestor Arvid Harald; Loar Harald born on July 24, 1897, the first born in Örebro Nikolai; Märta Elisabet born on July 26, 1899, who married a man with the last name of Wilsson and died in Sweden; Tore Harald born on May 30, 1904, who died in Sweden; and lastly son Bengt Erik Harald who was born on August 17, 1908. Note that all the sons have the middle name of Harald and the daughters Elisabet. From their son Harry's draft registration we know that the two daughters and three sons were alive and living in Sweden in 1918. Family stories say that at least one daughter came to America and lived in New York City. This must have been Brita, as the other daughter died in Sweden. Swedish Emigration Records, 1783-1951 show a Bengt Erik H Ström emigrating to Atlanta, GA on March 26, 1930. Harry could have gotten his brother a job there or he could have just been visiting. The New York State, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1917-1973, which is an Index to Alien Crewmen Who Were Discharged or Who Deserted at New York, New York, May 1917-Nov. 1957 has a 25-year-old Bengt Strom arriving in NY on April 19, 1933, on the Gripsholm. Harry’s draft registration does not state that his mother is alive, so by June 5, 1918, Anna Elisabeth had died in Sweden. Her husband, Erik Harald died in Sweden sometime after June 5, 1918. |