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The Hardens

I have tried to note some data for a Harden family tree, but I lack lots of information. However, yesterday, 2011-09-22, I found an inquiry on a genealogy forum from a Judy Harden. Among the descendants of her ancestors we find James Leroy Harden, and his mother is Charlotte Sauls. I tried to mail Judy, but the address is no longer valid. To bad. For this and also for learning more about Dr. Bill, I would like to thank Henry Cotten of Atlanta for giving me the impetus to start looking.

My Mother

My mother, Mary Jane Harden Louton, was born July 4th, 1911. She was raised in Orange City, Florida. My grandfather, Roy Harden (sadly, I do not have the photo which hung in our house in Woodstock, Illinois) and have only a few photos of my grandmother, whom we called "Grandma Ken".

My grandfather, James Leroy Harden, called Roy, passed away before I was born, thus I have no memories of him. My folks had a picture of him, hat on, sort of fedora, and looking off. I regret that I do not have this photo now. See the letters my father wrote. I can remember my grandmother, Marion Marshal Harden Kenworthey, well. We went to Florida almost every year, often over Easter or sometimes for New Year. This was of course great, we visited college friends of mom and dad, the Dompe. Big Al and Louise. The lived in Crescent City, Florida. This meant swimming and boating ad libidos. Florida seemed to be a magical place, where it was warm in the winter and lots of lakes.

Boston Ave. School

I understood that Mom first attended a sort of one-room-school. She was a very good student and at some time she attended the Boston Avenue School but see but note that the person circled is not Mom, she is the second from the left (right from our point of view) of the person who is circled.. I think, MEMORY! that she went to Boston to study at the Sargent School for Girls.

Dr. Bill -- William Bartel Kenworthey

After my grandfather pass-away, Grandma Ken married William Kenworthey, Dr. Bill for short. I have no first hand info on Dr. Bill, but searching the web, I found a William Bartel Kenworthey, born 15th of Nov., 1872 in Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, and passed away 20th of March, 1951 in Lake Worth, Florida. I figure this must be the same. Further, there is a note "William attended Friends School in Philadelphia and graduated from a public High School. Then studied at Prichett Business College. He clerked for some time at Shinn's Drug Store. In 1895 he graduated from the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania. On February 1, 1898, he opened a office in Milford, Pennsylvania. William was a member of the Episcopal Church of Milford, and a member of the A.C. Harmon Club in Philadelphia, in politics he was a staunch Republican." The source of this was in RootsWeb (http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=clarkebob&id=I90662), but I am sure that they all copy from each other, as most of the entries have this same informaiton. We always heard that he was a doctor at Walter Reed Hospital and was a co-inventor of a sleeping drug, the name of which I have forgotten. He had a short wave radio to which I loved to listen. Promised to will it to me. When he passed away, my Uncle Joel stole it -- I guess with other things too -- and much to the embarrassment to Aunt Marion. Among the papers I found at Peter's house in Feb. 2006, there was a picture of his grave.

2011: I had an inquiry about Dr. Bill, and that caused me to check a bit further. I have learned the following:

Aunt Louise, Aunt Marion and Uncle Son

My mother had an older sister, Aunt Louise Tatum, who spent her life in Florida. She married Charles Tatum, whom we called Uncle Bum. Her daughter Charlotte Weaver told me it snowed about 1980 in Boynton Beach, and that was the first experience with snow. Aunt Louise passed away about 1989.

Mom had a younger sister, Marion (Little Marion, even as these things go, she was much bigger than Grandma Ken) who died much too early of a brain tumor in 1969. Aunt Marion was always fun! After she divorced Joel (with whom she had two children, Marion and Joel, with whom I sadly no longer have no any contact) she married Roland Partridge, a person who was often in Europe and Middle East (he worked as a geophysicist). He was a swell person as I recall.

Then there was Uncle Son, James Leroy Harden, Jr. Barbara and I married in a dual marriage with Uncle Son and Muriel on the first of July, 1984.

Miscellaneous photos of Mom's friends and family

Members of my family and friends on my mother's side

My great grand mother, Charlotte Sauls Harden. I know only her name and once or twice a remark from my mother, albeit, forty to fifty years ago. Mom in any event did not seem to have liked her very well. Mom also commented that she was an Indian. She must have come from South Georgia, but that is all I know.

This is Grandma Ken, no doubt outside her house in Florida.

Here she is with my cousin Charlotte's children.

This picture of Aunt Marion must be from the 50's, but am not sure. It does not really belong here, but I think it is one of the few pictures I have of this wonderful person.

This is Uncle Son, James Harden. He was the youngest of the children, then came Aunt Marion, Mom and Aunt Louise was the oldest. Uncle Son has two children, Jim and Emmy Sue. Sadly, I haven't seen them since 1984, when Barbara and I married. Aunt Marion had a boy, Joel, or as we called him, Joe Joe and a daughter, Marion, whom we called Sister. Also with them I have had no contact for ages. I think since 1957, or 58 when we visited Aunt Marion in Texas.

Aunt Louise lived in South Florida. Uncle Bum, Charles Tatum. I recall that I got on well with him, but confess that I cannot really remember him so well. He died in the early 60's. On thing I do remember well, was that when they visited us, then we had to say grace before dinner. This meant delaying eating, with which I was not at all in agreement. To top it off, at the end, he would say, "For Jesus' sake, Amen", that is something with which I did agree, but only because I did not really understand. My brother has a different recolection of this. It took place in Des Plaines at my Grandparents home, Thacker Street, and Albert Louton, a cousine of Bapa who was a missionery in South Africa, said grace and Uncle Bum is supposed to have said at the end, of the long grace, "For jesus' sake, Amen!" John says that I laughed then.

Mom went to School at Sargent College in Boston after graduating from high school, aged 15, if I recall well. She had many friends from Sargent later.

Mom's friends

I recall Mom mentioning Frances, but I do not recall having met her. She lived later in North Florida.

Here is a second picture, both have the same color tint, but seem to be different times and places.

I sadly found this in with Mom's records. I managed to fix the date of the obituary as 1969.

The name Ted Priony is written on the photo in my Dad's hand. I do not yet know who this person is.