James John Beament California

[Erato]

James J. Beament, 18 April 1916, mother's maiden name McDonal, San Francisco.

That's McDonal with no 'd'.  Is it just a coincidence that Myrtle's mother was McDonald?

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NYC is something new for me and I'm not happy about it.  My ancestors are almost all in small rural villages except for this one side branch that couldn't get out of Brooklyn.  Nightmare.

[Maddie]

Thank you very much, that's a help.

There are 3 kids on the index that match & one was on the 1930 census index with them.

Was Myrtle's mother a McDonald  I've missed that bit.......

Oh heck, now what.

I like rural villages, all my other Beament's are much easier to find.

Maddie

[Maddie]

Silly me

Just found the info on Myrtle's mother, sorry..

Surely that's just a coincidence.

Maddie

[Erato]

Presumably, James J., Jr.'s mother was Christine,  so I think it's time to look for a Christine McDonal in Canada and entering the US in 1911.

[Maddie]

Yes, I think you're right.

I've had an awful thought, James J couldn't have married one of his step children, could he.....

Could Myrtle & Alice be twins born to Christina, but then they wouldn't have the name Lang, would they, unless Christina had been married before.

My thoughts are running away with me, I had better call it a night & get to bed.

I am so grateful to you for all that you are doing.

Maddie

[Erato]

Not totally out of the question; I personally know of a case in which this happened.  It would mean that she had to be in San Francisco in April 1908.  She could have invented the name Lang when they asked her to identify the father, or maybe there really was a Mr. Lang and he really was the father.

[Erato]

Oakland Tribune 5 July 1921:

Edited to add that a similar legal announcement was placed in the Oakland Tribune by St. Mary’s Orphanage on 4 February 1923.  Myrtle and Alice were 14 years 8 months old.

[Erato]

Do a Google search on "St. Mary's Orphanage" "San Jose."   The last result on the first page [History of Alameda County] has a Description of St. Mary's Orphanage on p. 275.  I can't post the link because I get an error message when I try to shrink it.

[Erato]

St. Mary's classified the children in the orphanage as "whole orphans," "half orphans" and "abandoned."  So it seems that Myrtle and Alice were known to have living parents but they had been dumped.