Eliza Patten Washington's Life in Pictures

My grandmother's life was documented in various photographs. This is my first attempt to present some of those pictures as a short film.

"Cornelia Bellinger Chiles" meet Photo Investigator

Who is this woman?


I have a ton of family photos. The problem is that many of them are not marked as to identification. Some of them offer clues as to who they maybe. For example, if a photograph has a printed post card back, it is known that the first photographic postcards were introduced around 1900. Thus any photo with such a back must have been taken after 1900. Unfortunately, this one does not have a back. In fact it is a photograph of two different photographs of what appears to me to be the same person taken about 20 years or more apart. I have blended the two pictures together to see if the features sort of match. Since the photos were not the same size, they sort of line up. Oh well.

Potential Photographs of Charlotte

Although I might be able to match an earlier photograph, the earliest photo of the same person, in my opinion, is here:





Any one paying attention might notice that I have previously identified this picture was being one of Cornelia Chiles Washington. I was told that was the case, but after careful consideration, I have decided that is NOT the case.






Another is here:












The next photograph is here:






What I believe to be the latest version is here:


In my next post, I will discuss my clues and why I believe these are pictures of Charlotte Bellinger Chiles. More to be revealled!

Charlotte Bellinger's Brother, Charles

Charles Bellinger, was born in Caldwell County, Texas, on April 15, 1875. He was the younger brother of Charlotte Bellinger. His sister, Charlotte Bellinger, married John Childs and was the mother of Cornelia Childs Washington, my great grandmother.

Charles Bellinger became active in San Antonio Texas city politics during 1918 when he joined African American ministers to organize black voters for several successful candidates for mayor and other local offices.



Bellinger's house in San Antonio Texas circa 1928


These city leaders responded with water and sewers, street paving and lighting, a library and auditorium, and better schools and playgrounds in African American neighborhoods.

Charles Bellinger


In the 1930s, he was charged with income tax evasion, afterwhich he was sent to Levensworth Federal Prison in Kansas. A attorney, C.K. Quin (who was purportedly was also a Klu Klux Klan member, when he wasn't acting as Mayor of San Antonio), sought a presidential pardon for him.



President Franklin D. Roosevelt granted Bellinger a parole because of illness, and pleas from San Antonio leaders and his family.


Franklin D Roosevelt

The Pardon papers cited Charles Bellinger's rallying of black voters on behalf of Democratics, and such black voters voting for the Dems in any significant numbers for the first time since reconstruction as a reason to grant the pardon.

Charles Bellinger died June 14, 1937.

Additional References
Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/QQ/fqu15.html (accessed January 16, 2009).

Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/BB/fbe74.html (accessed January 16, 2009).

Clarence Washington, Sr.

BIG PAPA

Clarence Washington, Sr. was the husband of Cornelia Chiles Washington. He was on May 22, 1885 in Wharton Texas to Aleck Washington,Jr. and Emma Grey. His Grandfather was also an Aleck. He married Cornelia Chiles and had several children, one of whom was my grandfather.

Instead of continuing the Aleck tradition, Clarence named his son Clarence who in turn named his son Clarence, etc.



Big papa as we knew him, was a handsome man. He worked as a cabinet maker in a lumberyard. He died on July 23, 1958 from cancer at age 73.


Big Papa and Helena and his car

Although Big Papa died when I was only two years old, his having cancer is what I remember most about him. It was a very big secret. My mother told me that she and her siblings were told that they could not tell a single soul that Big Papa had cancer.

Cornelia Chiles Washington

This is my grandfather Clarence's mother.

CORNELIA CHILES WASHINGTON

I used to have this reoccurring dream. I was a small child playing in a Church pew. My mother was sitting in the pew near me, letting me play. Various people were milling around the room. All of a sudden, the organ started to play and the wailing began. It scared the shit out of me. I ran into my mother's arms crying. Then I would wake up.

Sometime during my late twenty's early thirty's, I overheard my mother telling a friend about her grandmother, Cornelia Washington's funeral. Her story was my dream. Turns out that it wasn't a dream, but instead an early memory. Cornelia died when I was five, and I was actually remembering her funeral.

Cornelia was born in May 30, 1887 in Caldwell, Texas, although on her death certificate her birthday is listed as May 30, 1901, and only 60 years old. In fact, she was 73 years at her death.

Cornelia's Parents
Her parents were John Chiles and Charlotte Bellinger Chiles. I have also seen this name spelled as "Childs" and therefore am not clear about the spelling. John was born in Missouri in 1854. The records indicate that his parents were from Virginia. Charlotte was born in Texas in 1855. John and Charlotte married in Caldwell Texas on December 29, 1873.

Charlotte was a housewife whose brother was the infamous Charles Bellinger. John Chiles was a policeman in San Antonio. When Charles Bellinger died in 1936, John Chiles purported when around smashing the cameras of reporters because the gangsters attending the funeral did not want their pictures taken.

Charlotte and John had the following kids:
Louvenia Chiles b: 1875 in Lockhart, Caldwell County, Texas
Blick John Chiles, Jr. b: 4 AUG 1877 in Lockhart, Caldwell County, Texas
Aleck Chiles b: 1879 in Lockhart, Caldwell County, Texas
Birdie Chiles b: 10 DEC 1880 in Lockhart, Caldwell County, Texas
Florence Chiles b: 10 APR 1883 in Lockhart, Caldwell County, Texas
Cornelia Mae Chiles b: 30 MAY 1887 in Lockhart, Caldwell County, Texas
Lex Bernice Chiles b: 4 JUL 1889 in Lockhart, Caldwell County, Texas
Nora Chiles b: 25 JAN 1892 in Lockhart, Caldwell County, Texas
Myrtle Chiles b: 29 JUL 1894 in Lockhart, Caldwell County, Texas



This is the earliest picture of Cornelia that I have.


Cornelia has several sisters and two brothers. One Aleck died as a teenager. The other was named Blick.


Blick


Cornelia (upper left) and her sisters.

Her sisters were: Louvenia, Birdie, Florence, Lex, Nora and Myrtle.



Married Life

Cornelia married Clarence Washington, Sr.





They had three sons: Harold, Clarence, and Chiles.

My mother middle name is Cornelia and she was named after her grandmother. They were very close.



Thelma, (unknown), Cornelia

Clarence Washington Jr., My grandfather

Clarence was born on September 6, 1909 to Cornelia Chiles Washington and Clarence Washington Sr. He was the middle child with two brothers. Harold was the older one and Chiles was the younger one. Many years later, my brother, Keith would be born on that same day.



The "girl" in this picture is purportedly my grandfather, Clarence. His little brother, Chiles, is in the chair and his other brother, Harold, standing on the right. When I saw the dress and hair ribbons, I didn't believe it was my grandfather, but it turned out I was wrong.

The funny thing was that a later picture, Clarence was dressed in boy clothes, but Chiles, now older, was wearing something with a very large girl-like collar. I have seen other pictures from that time period where little boys were dressed like girls. It appeared that mothers of that era loved to dress their sons in suit kilts made from a blouse like material, which were more of a skirt than a kilt. Before that boys would have been dressed in baby dresses and smocks and would usually not have their hair cut. My grandfather's curls were typical. At some point, boys would be "breeched" and therefore allowed to wear breeches or pants. These pictures would have been taken around or before 1916.


Edna Hackett (their cousin), Clarence, Harold with Chiles (the baby) in the front

I don't know that much about my grandfather's childhood, but I assume it was good.

The First Wife of Clarence, Carrie

He was purportedly married to a woman named Carrie Mae Jackson before my grandmother.

This is the only picture of Carrie that I have. (Right side, bottom)Writing on the back of the picture identified the people as follows: Mrs. Lum (top, left), Cornelia, Clarence's mother (top, right), Nora Todd (Bottom, Left) and Carrie Mae Jackson (Bottom, right). The picture notes that it was "taken before 1934." My mother was born in 1937, and therefore I suspect that 1934 was the year that her older sister was born.

The Second Wife, Eliza, My grandmother
Why and went Clarence left Carrie Mae will remain a mystery as anyone who knows is dead. However, I understand that there was a lot of controversy surrounding my grandfather and grandmother, Eliza, getting together. Aunt Thelma, my grandmother's sister was older and was left in charge of the kids after Pauline's Garza's death. Aunt Thelma was color conscience, and when it came out that my grandmother was dating Clarence, all hell broke loose. She supposed objected to the fact that Clarence was chocolate brown in other words had dark skin. When Eliza refused to stop seeing him, Thelma purportedly disowned Eliza and divided the parcel that Pauline Garza had left them as a punishment.



Clarence would have four children with Eliza, one of whom was still born. The three children that lived were Alexandria, also known as Lex. Thelma, my mother, was the middle child. My uncle, Clarence Washington the third, was the last one. We know him as Buddy Boy.

In the Navy
Clarence was drafted during World War II and went into the Navy to serve his country.

While in the Navy, he took this picture which he labelled "Hitler's Yacht".





Family Life
After he married my grandmother, they lived on Buck Street. Later, they moved to the house on Barbee Street in Houston. They were the first black family to move to that neighborhood. Supposedly, the mayor of Houston's mistress lived in the house before the Washington's moved there.

My grandfather was what we would call a "renaissance man". He didn't go to college, but he worked several jobs until he died. He was a postman.



He also worked as a driver and delivery man. My mother and her siblings learned to drive at around 12 years old, because a white man gave my grandfather a car which he gave to aunt, mother and uncle. My grandfather spoiled his kids, maybe because he was spoiled by his mother.


Clarence loved music. He played the alto saxophone, and was in a band that played the local juke joint on a regular basis.

Most importantly, he was a family man. Family was very important to him.


The Clarence Washington, Sr. Family

Clarence, Jr.; Cornelia, Clarence Sr., Chiles (top row)

Thelma; Eliza; Clarence, III; Charlene, Bessie, Carolyn, Alexandria (bottom row) (Harold is not in this picture)

 

We used to visit Texas on a regular basis. My granddaddy was golfer, too.

When we were kids and visiting Houston, he would take us to hit balls. I guess he was also a outdoors man of sort. I remember one hunting trip in the woods where a pack of black bees would swarm. It would take a shot gun blast to get rid of them.

Standing next to Granddaddy's car on the Ferry to Galveston.

I also remember fishing and crabbing. We would take raw chicken and tie it to a white string. We would dangle the bait off an pier and soon a crab would grab on and hold on for its life. (Which would be ending as soon as it hit that cooking pot!) I was fascinated by crabs, but wouldn't eat them.



Clarence died in December 1978 at the age of 69. More on that later.

The Family Tree

"A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words"