Amy Johnson Crow “no story too small” suggested that we write a story about an ancestor who probably received coal in the their stocking
Looking for naughty ancestors was a fun task. The ancestor who got coal in the stocking was Ernest Bough. He is the son of Julius Bough and Bernice Rowell, both of the Virgin Islands and who migrated to New York. In our family, I remember hearing, as children, the anxiety the adults would have speaking about Uncle Ernest, who ran away from home. But my thoughts were different coming from a family with immense rules and etiquette. I would cheer him “yippy yi Ya”. I viewed him childlike as one being a courageous and adventurous runaway. But now, with research and oral history, Ernest Bough was the adult who served in the military and never returned home. I came to thinking why would he just vanish, and cause the family so much heartache, headache, and stress. He ended up in Detroit, Michigan, never to be heard of or seen again. So, I decided to stir the Pot.
Research revealed that Ernest B. Bough had served over 10 years in the military between 1932 – 1946, with the New York National Guard and the US Army. By 1934, he was married to Rosalia Benjamin of St. Croix. By 1937 he received an honorable discharge from the National Guard. It is at this point that Ernest B. Bough never returned to his family, nor did they hear from him again. The research supported the oral history that Ernest went to Detroit, Michigan.
So it hit me that he went to Detroit because it was booming with the Auto Industry. He thought he would return home when loaded, or he heard about Motown and wanted to audition for Berry Gordy. (Poking fun) Listed in the “Classified Business section for complete list for Businesses and Professions” for Dearborn, Michigan City Directory, 1941 was Ernest B. Bough, Porter in Garfield Detroit. (huh)
Ernest, at 32 years old enlisted in the US Army for 2 years. In February 1951, he then married Maggie Kelso from Martin, Tennessee by all standards; they were farm people who became a part of the “Great Migration”. Those were they who were fleeing the South going North or West for a better life filled with hopes and aspirations. Still, all in all, Ernest B. Bough died on February 7, 1973 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was 61 years old.
What brought Ernest from New York to Detroit could have been the fact that his mother, Beatrice, was married to a Gentleman by the name of Lonnie Haddon of Ohio who lived in Michigan. Did he have any children? Why didn’t he send word to his New York family he left behind is all left unknown? One thing I know for sure, regardless of the situation his behavior was naughty. Yes, my Great Uncle Ernest probably received coal in his stocking.
Sources:
Photo by Getty Images {link to http://www.freeimages.com}.
http://www.visharoots.org/ St. Croix Population Database
Ancestry.com New York, U.S. National Guard Enlistment Cards, 1917 – 1954,
Ancestry.com: 1910 US Federal Census
Ancestry.com: 1920 US Federal Census
Ancestry.com : New York, New York Marriage Index 1866 – 1937
Ancestry.com: Michigan Marriage Records 1867 – 1952
Wikipedia: History of Detroit.
Ancestry.com : US Directories 1822 – 1995
Ancestry.com Michigan Department of Vital and Health Records, Michigan Deaths 1971 – 1996
