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      • (--?--) — to — Franks
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    • Persons Index
      • (--?--)—to—William Delray Alley
      • James Allinder—to—James Beall
      • James Beall—to—Claudia June Bremser
      • Clive John Bremser—to—Daniel Bushnell
      • Ebenezer Bushnell—to—Baby Claggett
      • Benjamin Franklin Claggett—to—James K Crofut
      • Asa Cromeans—to—Levi Jerome Dustin
      • Lydia Althea (Althia) Dustin—to—Bildad Fowler
      • Catherine Fowler—to—Frederick Eugene Gross I
      • Frederick Eugene Gross II—to—Nathan Alexander Hoover
      • Philip Richard Hoover—to—Thomas Kilbourne
      • Dora Kilby—to—Anson Cassim Loveland
      • Asa Loveland—to—Edward Christian McNett
      • Edward Clinton McNett—to—Shawn Newland
      • Judy Carol Newsom—to—(--?--) Phelps
      • (--?--) Phelps—to—John Phelps
      • John Phelps—to—Timothy Phelps
      • Timothy Phelps—to—(Widow) Ridgley
      • Johann Jakob Rieger—to—Betha of Savoy
      • Thomas I Count Savoy—to—Alice Spencer
      • Ann Spencer—to—John Thompson
      • John Thompson—to—Anne Webster
      • Annis Webster—to—Johann Jakob Zuern
    • Four Generations Tree
  • History of the Phelps Surname
    • Possible Origins of the Family in Germany and Italy
    • Spelling and Origin of the Name
    • Welf and Guelph, Possible Ancestors to the Phelps
    • House of Welf vs. the House of Hohenstaufen
    • Origins in Wales
  • William Phelps 1630 Origins
    • William Phelps First Generations
    • William Phelps of Crewkerne, England
    • William Phelps of Tewkesbury, England
    • William Phelps of Dorchester, Colony of Massachusetts
    • William Phelps 1672 Will
  • George Phelps 1634 Origins
    • George Phelps First Generations
    • The Identity of George Parkhurst
    • George Phelps in New England 1634
    • George Phelps 1687 Will
  • Richard Phelps 1633 Origins
  • James Phelps 1786 Origins
  • Phelps Origins in Europe
    • Phelps Origins in Nether Tyne, Checkley, England
    • Decendants of James Phelps of Nether Tyne, England
    • Decendants of James Phelps of Tewkesbury, England
  • Phelps Towns & Villages
    • Tewkesbury, England
    • Crewkerne, England
    • Checkley, England
    • Simsbury, Connecticut
    • Windsor, Connecticut
    • Phelps Tavern of Litchfield, Connecticut
  • Colonial Voyages to Connecticut
    • Researching the Mary and John
    • Warrent and Order Detaining Phelps' Ships
    • About the Ship Mary and John
    • Voyage of the Mary and John 1630
    • Voyage of the Mary and John in 1633/34
    • Voyage of the Hercules in 1633/34
    • Voyage of the Recovery in 1633/34
  • Phelps Arrival in America
    • Nathaniel Phelps of Dorchester, Connecticut
    • William Phelps of Northampton, Massachusetts
    • Elnathian Phelps b. c1734
    • First Phelps Family Ancestors
    • The Great Migration to the Colonies
      • King Charles Persecutes Puritans
      • John Phelps Regicide to Charles I
      • Phelps Entries in the Great Migration Begins
  • Phelps of Simsbury and Windsor
    • William Phelps and the First Local Government
    • Founders of Ancient Windsor, Connecticut
    • Estimated Population of American Colonies 1620 to 1780
    • Crime and Punishment in Simsbury
    • Organization of the Church in Windsor
    • The Phelps Homestead in Simsbury
  • Phelps Family Letters
    • Isaac Ensign and Cornelia Phelps
    • Ensign Letters from Simsbury to Forsyth
    • Correspondance of Oliver Roswell Phelps and Georgia Phelps
    • Ensign Family Letters
  • Phelps from New York to Illinois
    • Nehemiah West Leads the Settlers West
    • Hoosiers vs. Yankees: A Slave State or Not?
    • The (Ill-fated) Boat Party
    • Pioneer Architecture: From Log Cabins to Homes
    • Galesburg Grows Amidst the Jackson Panic
    • Founding of the Knox Manual Labor College
    • Household Skills in Pioneer Galesberg
    • Commerce is Established With Colton's Store
    • Food and Clothing in Early Galesburg
  • Family Origins in Illinois
    • Noble Phelps Moves West to Illinois
    • Knox County Pioneer Noble Phelps
    • Noble Phelps' Prize Farm
    • Premium for Phelps Best Farm
    • Seraphina Princess Phelps and George Avery
    • Ronald Aaron Noble Phelps 1881 Bio
    • Avery Company History
  • Phelps Family in California
    • Bart Phelps, Navy Telegrapher Radioman
    • Bart Phelps, Yerba Buena 1916 Radio Operations
    • Bart Phelps, Wailupe 1921 Radio Operations
    • Bart Phelps, Alaska 1924 Radio Operations
    • Annabeth Beasley Phelps
    • Harold Bartle "Bud" Phelps III
    • A Generation Passes
  • Bartle Family
    • Bartle Family Genealogy
    • The Daily Journal of Births and Deaths
    • Bartle First American Ancestors
    • Henry Hart Bartle Obituary
    • Henry Hart Bartle 1858-1929 Biograpahy
    • Nathanial Sanburn 1723, Kingston New Hampshire
    • Francis G. Sanburn 1899, of Knoxville, Illinois
    • William Toy Bartle Ministry
    • Nathanial Sanborn, 1814, of Canandaigua, New York
  • Beasley Family
    • Beasley Family Genealogy
    • First Known American Ancestors
    • The Price of Slaves 1850
    • Luther S. Beasley 1925 Obituary
    • John T. Beasley 1883-1950
    • John Beasley and Lizzie Bremser Marriage
    • John T. Beasley 1950 Obituary
    • Jane Beasley Raph Professional Life
    • Jane Beasley Raph 2001 Obituary
    • Annabeth Beasley Phelps, Mother and Provider
    • Annabeth Beasley Phelps 2001 Obituary
    • Brandy Station in the Civil War
    • T/5 Myron K. Ricketts, WWII Veteran
    • A Hero in Our Midst—Mac Butler's "Battlin' Blue Bastards"
    • Ephraim Beazley 1797 Deeds and Records
    • William Beazley 1824 Court Records and Will
  • Bremser Family
    • Bremser Family Genealogy
    • Finding Heinrich Gottlieb Bremser
    • The Family History
    • Coming to America
    • The Search for Henry Bremser
    • Henry Bremser 1864-1848 Bio
    • Henry Bremser 1864-1948 Obituary
    • Elizabeth Bremser 1888-1952 Biograhy
    • Elizabeth Bremser Marriage Letter Home
    • Bremsers Origins in Germany
    • Bremser-Familiengeschichte (Deutch)
  • Christy Family
    • Guy Christy Horseshoes Collection
    • Christy Family First American Ancestors
    • Guy H Christy, Kentucky to California
    • 27th Illinois Infantry Regimental History
    • The Mystery of Harry Haskell
      • The Civil War Medal
      • A Short Biography
      • Harry's Gettysburg Report
      • 125th New York Volunteers Regimental History
      • Harry's Enlistment Record
      • Harry Haskell Obituaries
      • Mystery Revealed
  • Claggett Family
    • Claggett Family Genealogy
    • Claggett First Ancestors in America
    • Robert Clagget 1490 in England
    • Edward Clagett 1670 Emigration to America
    • Thomas Claggett 1703 of London and Maryland
    • Thomas Clagett 1732 Will
    • Samuel Claggett 1821, Revolutionary War Surgeon
    • Samuel Claggett 1846 of Virginia
    • Samuel Claggett and Julia F. Sanford Marriage Contract
    • Bernard Johnson Claggett 1919 Bio
    • The Price of Slaves 1850
    • Julia {Sanford} Claggett 1876 Civil War Claims
      • Deposition of Columbia Claggett
      • Commision Standard Interrogitories
      • Deposition of Sgt. Ereastus Weaver
      • Deposition of Lt.Frank Foot
      • Deposition of Julia Claggett
      • Deposition of Thomas Claggett
      • Testimony of Craven King
      • Testimony of William Francis
      • Testimony of Erastus Weaver
      • Map of Clagget Farm
      • Claim Exhibits
      • Battle of Bull Run
      • Battle of Brandy Station
      • 121st NY Volunteers
      • Complete Commission Transcript
    • Claggett Family Move to Illinois from Virginia
    • Sanford Ramey Claggett 1895 Obituary
    • Ann Claggett Beasley 1898 Obituary
    • Rev. Thomas John Claggett 1816, First American Episcopal Bishop
    • Thomas J. Claggett 1901 Obituary
    • Columbia Claggett 1904 Obituary
    • Brice Clagett, Family Genealogist
    • Claggett Coat of Arms
  • Diuguid Family
    • Diuguid Family Genealogy
    • George Christian Diuguid of Kentucky
    • The English Royal Connection
    • Harriet Diuguid's Letter About Her Ancestry
    • Diuguid Origins in America
    • Origin of the Diuguid Name
  • Klein Family
    • Klein Family Genealogy
    • Klein Origins in Germany
    • Klein Visit to 1922 Germany
  • Morgan Family
    • Morgan Family Genealogy
    • Utah Pioneer John Morgan
  • Loveland Family
    • Loveland Family Since 1556
  • Notable Family Members
    • 1600-1699
      • John Phelps, Court Clerk at the Trial of King Charles I
      • Anson Green Phelps, Merchant and Philanthropist
    • 1700-1799
      • Richard Phelps, Bell-founder for English Churches
      • Dr. Francis Phelps, Representative and Senator
      • Judge John Phelps, Publisher, Judge, Merchant, and Entrepreneur
      • Noah Phelps, A Spy at Ticonderoga, A Patriot of 1776
      • Oliver Phelps, Land Speculator, Judge, Congressman
      • William Wines Phelps, Judge, Mormon Publisher and Writer
      • William Wines Phelps Letters to Wife
      • William Wines Phelps Revelation Given
      • William Wines Phelps in Church History
      • William Wines Phelps Letter from Liberty Jail 1834
      • Samuel Shethar Phelps, Jurist, Congressman, and Senator
      • Nathanial Sanborn, Pioneer Settler of Canandaigua, New York
    • 1800-1849 A-M
      • Alfred Aaron Phelps, Wild West Show Rider
      • Austin Phelps, Congregational Minister, Educator
      • Charles Edward Phelps, Congressman, Judge, Author
      • Delos Porter Phelps, Lawyer, U.S. Assistant Treasurer
      • Edward John Phelps, American Lawyer, Diplomat
      • George M. Phelps, Master Telegraph Instrument Maker, Inventor
      • Dr. Guy Rowland Phelps, Founder, Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company
      • Judge James Phelps, Judge, Congressman
      • Judge John Jay Phelps, Publisher, Judge, Merchant, Entrepreneur
      • John Smith Phelps, Lawyer, Legislator
      • John Wolcott Phelps, Brigadier General, United States Volunteers
      • Mary Phelps Rich, Pioneer Saint in Tazewell County, Illinois
      • Francis G. Sanburn, Pioneer Resident of Knoxville, Illinois
    • 1800-1849 N-Z
      • Mary Anne Phelps Rich, Mormon Pioneer
      • Rev. Philip Phelps, Founder, First President, Western Theological Seminary
      • John Wesley Phelps, Deputy Sheriff of Hartford County, Connecticut
      • Stephen Sumner Phelps, Illinois Pioneer
      • Thomas Stowell Phelps, Civil War Naval Officer
      • William Walter Phelps, Congressman, Ambassador, Judge
    • 1850-1899
      • Mary Phelps Jacob, Inventor, Publisher
      • William Lyon Phelps, Educator, Literary Critic, Author
    • 1900-2020
      • Chance Russel Phelps, Private, USMC
  • Phelps Family Arms & Crest
    • About Coats of Arms
    • Arms of the Tewkesbury Phelps
    • Arms of Henry Phelps of London
    • Arms of the American Phelps
    • Arms of the Irish Phelps
    • Heraldic Glossary
  • Selected Family Wills
    • Thomas and Katherine Phylypp Wills 1556, Over Teyne, Checkeley, England
    • William Phelps 1672 Will, Windsor, Connecticut
    • Anthony Phillipps 1648 Will, Nether Teane, England
    • Francis Phylyppe 1648 Will, Checkley, England
    • Thomas Phylypp 1556 Will, Over Teyne, England
    • George Phelps 1687 Will, Westfield, Massachusetts
    • Timothy Phelps 1639 Will, Windsor, Connecticut
    • Natnaniel Phelps 1702 Will, Northampton, Massachusetts
    • Thomas Clagett 1708 Will, Calvert, Maryland
    • Thomas Clagett 1732 Will, Prince Georges, Maryland
    • Julia F Sanford 1727 Marriage Indenture
    • Ephraim Beazley 1797 Wills & Deeds, Spotsylvania, Virginia
    • Ephraim Beasley 1797 Deed Spotsylvania, Virginia
    • Ephraim Beasley 1798 to Elizabeth Beazley
    • Ephraim Beasley 1798 Will, Spotsylvania County, Virginia
    • Henry Beazley 1804 Indenture, Spotsylvania, Virginia
    • William Beazley 1828 Will, Culpeper, Virginia
    • William Beazley 1824 Court Records and Will
    • William Beazley 1852 Will, Culpeper, Virginia
    • Cornelius Beazley 1834 Will
    • Ephraim Beazley 1833 Mortgage
    • John Loveland 1649 Will
    • Ephraim Beazley 1798 Henry Beazley 1815 Indenture
    • James Phelps of North Caroline 1786 Estate
    • Robert Valentine Phelps 1905 Australia
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Guy H Christy 1905

From Kentucky to California

The Family Moves West

In late 1897 or early 1898, Guy Herbert and Bessie Roberts Christy moved from North Alton to Paducah, Kentucky. Their children Herbert Estelle and Anne Elizabeth were born in Paducah, Kentucky in 1898 and 1899, respectively. It appears likely that her grandparents, now in their 50s, moved with them.

We are fortunate to have handwritten notes (matching the handwriting found in the family bible and probably that of Bessie), found on a 1907 calendar, that provide the dates for Bessie Christy's family's journey from Kentucky to California.

On January 15, 1907, Guy, Bessie, and the two children, along with his parents George and Lizzy Christy, left via train for Durango, Colorado. They arrived five days later on January 20, 1907. They stayed the summer. On September 8, 1907, the family left for the mining town of Silverton, 47 miles to the north. But Guy apparently found that the mining industry in Colorado was waning by that time, and there was not enough work for blacksmiths. Either that or they got tired of the snow.

The family stayed in Silverton less than two months, and on Oct. 31, 1907, they departed for Santa Cruz, California. My grandmother, Anne Elizabeth Christy, was eight years old when the family took a stagecoach, apparently from Silverton to Durango. She recalled that it was so cold that her father gave her a shot of whisky to warm her up. They took a train the rest of the way to California and arrived in Santa Cruz, California, on November 1, 1907.

Herbert and Anna in Santa Cruz, 1913
Herbert and Anne Christy in the yard of their home in Santa Cruz, circa 1908.
Guy Christy in his blacksmith shop in Santa Cruz
Guy Christy in his blacksmith shop in Santa Cruz, circa 1909. He went on to become an instructor in welding and blacksmithing at Heald School in San Francisco.

They stayed in Santa Cruz only one week before leaving for San Francisco. The emergency rebuilding of San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake was largely at an end, and the inflated wages of that period were shrinking due to an oversupply of labor. A major strike of streetcar men had just ended with the complete collapse of the labor unions in San Francisco, and all the supervisors and the mayor had been found guilty of bribery.

From Farrier to Welder

Apparently Guy did not immediately find work in Santa Cruz, and he then went to Nevada to the silver mines, to see if he could find work there. We have a picture of him fixing a wagon, labeled "1908 Elko, Nev."

Guy returned to Santa Cruz within the year and opened his own blacksmithing shop, as shown in the picture below. It appears, however, as automobiles multiplied, that the days of blacksmithing were numbered.

In 1915, Guy's father George William Christy died at age 73. George's headstone, in the International Order of Odd Fellows cemetery in Santa Cruz, California, is inscribed, "July 15, 1915 Geo. W. Christy CO F 27 ILL INF". Guy, Bessie, the children and grandmother Lizzy Stephens Christy remained in Santa Cruz until November 9, 1916, when the family, excepting Anne, moved to San Francisco.

At age 17, Anne showed an early streak of independence and remained in Santa Cruz to complete her studies at Heald Business College in bookkeeping and shorthand. Two months later, in January, 1917, she followed her parents to San Francisco and sought work there (as shown by reference letters written by her instructor).

In San Francisco, Guy paid to attend the Heald School and learn welding. He then worked for Heald from the middle of 1916 to the middle of 1917. In October 1918, the family lived in the Glasgow Apartments at 525 Turk, near Larkin, in San Francisco.

1916 Willys Overland Car
An Willys-Overland Car Company model in 1916. Only $615. In 1914, the Willys-Overland car company was second only to Ford in car production.

In early 1919, Anne Elizabeth "Betty" Christy—she grew to dislike the name Anne—went to work for one of the companies that had put her father out of the farrier business, the Willys-Overland Car Company, as an accountant. In January 1920, according to the Census, her father Guy was also working for the former competition as a welder in an autoshop; Bessie worked as a sales clerk in a store, and Anne (or Betty) was listed as a stenographer in the auto business. Betty, my grandmother, told me with great satisfaction that she "made good money on that job." She was the only woman in the accounting department and she had men working under her, an unusual situation for a woman her age and for the time period.

Earlier in 1919, Betty met a Navy radioman named Harold Bartle "Bart" Phelps on a blind double date with another girl. Their courtship was rapid. Bart was transferred to Honolulu in August 1919. Only a few months later, on March 2o, 1920, Betty left her job and sailed on the Matson ship S. S. Manoa from San Francisco to Honolulu. Betty and Bart were married there one week after she arrived, on April 6. No family members could make the expensive trip to Hawaii, and only a few friends of short duration were able to attend the wedding. No invitations were sent, only an announcement afterwards. They were eventually married over 64 years.

Guy Becomes a Welding Instructor at Heald

By 1920, Guy was an instructor in welding at Heald, and in 1921 he became the welding and blacksmith department head.

During the 1920s, grandmother Lizzy Stephens Christy, who had accompanied the family all the way from Kentucky to Santa Cruz and then San Francisco, moved home to Paducah, Kentucky to live among her brothers and sisters. She died on May 31, 1932, at age 61, while visiting her daughter Carrie Christy Nipper and her sister Nita Diuguid Houck in Little Rock, Arkansas. Her body was transported home by train and Lizzy was buried in the Stephens plot in the Oak Grove Cemetery in Paducah.

Christy Family in Santa Cruz c 1916
Front, clockwise: Bessie, Herbert, Anne, and Guy circa 1915, just after their move to San Francisco from Santa Cruz.
Anne E Christy   Betty Christy Phelps
Anne Elizabeth "Betty" Christy circa 1920, probably near the date of her marriage to Bart.
  Betty in the breakfast room of 303 Seville Way, in 1975 at age 76.

Guy and Bessie's son Herbert "Bert" Estelle Christy first served in the Army during World War I in the 320th Signal Corp. After he was discharged, he went to work for the Union Pacific railroad. According to his sister Betty, "He got off the train one day and dropped dead."

Bert died on April 22, 1927, apparently of a heart attack or stroke, just after his 29th birthday, in San Bernardino, California. He never married. A telegram from E. E. Cunningham in San Bernardino to Guy H. Christy in San Francisco, dated Apr. 22, 1927, states, "HERBERT E. CHRISTY DIED SUDDENLY PRESUME HEART FAILURE SAN BERNARDINO TODAY. E. E. CUNNINGHAM". Herbert's mom's sister, Ruth Kate Diuguid, was married to a Cunningham in Paducah, KY. Perhaps E. E. Cunningham also worked for the railroad or was located in the San Bernardino area. Herb was buried in Colma, California. (A deed from the Mountain View Cemetery Association, dated April 25, 1927, grants Guy H. Christy a lot "numbered 483, block Cedar".) A notarized document, signed by Herbert's grandmother, attests to his birth at 714 South Fourth Street, between Ohio and Tennessee Streets, in Paducah.

According to the 1930 Census, Guy and Bessie continued to live in the Glasgow Apartments. Guy's birthplace is mistakenly given as Scotland, but then the entry appears to be crossed out and possibly "IL" is added. His parents' birthplaces are Illinois, and Bessies' are Kentucky. The monthly rent was $35 and they did not own a radio.

It's during this period that we believe they met May Forrgeaud Haskell, widow of Brig. General Harry L. Haskell. She lived only a few blocks away at 1482 Sutter Street, and we found among my grandmother Anne Christy Phelps' possessions a Civil War medal belonging to May's husband.

At some point during the 1930s, Guy apparently opened a welding shop in Sacramento, attested to by a business card for "Christy's Welding Works" at 1205 Eye Street.

In June, 1941, Bessie visited with her sister Anita "Nita" May Houck in Little Rock, Arkansas. In the 1940s, Guy and Bessie moved to 1574 78th Ave. in Oakland, California. They managed an apartment house in Oakland near Lake Merrit.

Their daughter Betty worked outside the home for a few months during the war, otherwise she was a full-time mother and homemaker. Betty and Bart built a house in 1936 in San Mateo, California for $7000.

Guy and Bessie died only a few months apart: Bessie on March 12, 1947 and Guy on November 10, 1947. They are buried together in Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Colma, California.

Knowing her parents' experience during the Depression and their distrust of banks, Betty and Bart expected to find some money hidden in their home, and they looked throughout the house several times, but only found several small envelopes with a few dollars in them. Shortly afterwards, Betty had a dream and she told Bart to look in the heater compartment over the top of the door. Hidden there where only knowing fingers would find it was an envelope containing $1500—equivalent to about $15,000 in 2008.

Anne and Bart lived at 303 Seville Way for 48 years, when Bart died in March 1984 at age 91. In 1987, Betty sold the home that had cost them $7000 in 1936 for $291,000 and moved to Santa Maria, California, to be near their only son, Harold "Hal" Bartle Phelps, Jr. and his wife Maxine. Betty passed away from natural causes on December 12, 1997 at the age of 97.

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