Clarie MORROSSEY and Irma J. CHAPPEL

NAMES: Clarie Morrossey, Irma J. Chappel
LOCATION: St Louis, Missouri
DATE: unknown, circa 1930?


These ancestors were rescued--framed!--in an antique store in Gilbert, Arizona. According to the back of the image, the two women are named Clarie Morrossey and Irma J Chappel and are "on the St.L.Mo side". The dog's identity is a mystery. If you squint at the factory in the background, you can make out the word "Cahokia". There is no date on the image, but judging by the clothing and the style around the image, I'd guess sometime in the early 1930s.

At first, I thought Cahokia was the name of the factory--but it's actually a the name of a part of East St Louis, Illinois, across the river. In fact, google maps show that the factory, with its characteristic double-stacks, still exists today (see map, left). This puts the women and the dog across the river in the Kosciusko neighborhood. Judging from the google streetview of tagged railway tracks, probably not the best place for a twenty-first century stroll.

Urban blight aside...who exactly are these ladies? They were probably in their 20s or 30s when this photo was taken, giving them a birth year of 1900 +/- 10. When I searched for an Irma Chappel born around 1900 living in St Louis Missouri, I got a pretty good hit: according to the 1930 Federal Census for the Independent City of St Louis, District 397, there was an Irma Chappel living at 2127 S 4th Street with a woman named Margaret Riley and her son, Martin. Though the streets through this part of town have changed in the passing decades, the building numbers on the still-existing 2nd Street put this address just blocks away from where--judging from the view of the factory--this photograph was likely taken! Strong evidence that we got the right gal. When we get into the details from the Census, we can see that Irma was renting her place for $10.00/month, most likely from the widowed Mrs. Riley. Interestingly, Irma is listed as married for nine years, but there is certainly no husband listed as living with her. She had not attended college in the past year, but she could read and write. The Census also notes that she was born somewhere in North Carolina to two parents also born in North Carolina.

Unfortunately, initial searches for information on Clarie Morrossey have turned up empty--even when looking page by page through the same district where I found Irma in the 1930 Federal Census.

Think you're related to Clarie or Irma? Drop a line!

- B.G.