Alberta (Lewis) Lee

Ancestors

Descendants

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Scott Lee [send private message]

Biography

Alberta Lewis Lee was born in Carbondale, Osage County, Kansas, on August 8, 1898. Her parents were Melvin Albert Lewis and Jennie Mary Hibbard. Alberta's father, Albert, as he liked to be called, emigrated from Ontario, Canada, to Nebraska, in 1880. He came with his family when he was eleven years old. Albert became a watchmaker and he was also a violinist. Alberta's mother, Jennie, was born in the town of Meadville, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. Jennie came to Kansas with her family when she was a young girl. Jennie's father was a carpenter and he was building homes in Kansas City.

During their marriage, Albert and Jennie had four children, and Alberta was the youngest:

1. Warren Ray Lewis born in Kansas in 1891.
2. Vera L. Lewis Griggs born in Kansas in 1894.
3. Melvin Alva Lewis born in Kansas in 1896.
4. Alberta Lewis Lee, born in Carbondale, Kansas in 1898.

When Alberta was two years old (1900), her family was still living in the town where she was born, Carbondale, Kansas, just south of Topeka, Kansas. Carbondale was a coal mining town. Alberta's grandmother, Emma Mann Lewis, widowed, was living next door, running a Rooming House. Alberta's father, Albert, (age 31) was working as a watchmaker. ^[1]

Sometime before Alberta reached her 7th birthday, her father moved out of the house. The Kansas State Census of 1905 lists Alberta (age 6) living with her siblings and her mother, Jennie Lewis (age 35), as the head of the household, at their home in Carbondale.

The population of Carbondale in 1890 was only 847. By 1900 it had dropped to 625 and it continued to drop further by 1920. ^[2] Alberta's mother, Jennie, after her husband, Albert, had left her, was no longer able to support her four children in Carbondale. So, she bought train tickets for herself and all four of the children and moved to Colton, California, sometime before 1910. Alberta was just eleven years old.

Jennie's father, John Henry Hibbard, was living in Colton, San Bernardino, California, and Jennie rented a house next to him.

After Alberta left Carbondale, Kansas, her father, Albert, married his pianist, Susan E. Johnson. The new couple moved in with Susan's mother until they could afford a home of their own. By 1920 he was working at his own Jewelry store, in Bonner Springs, Kansas.

Alberta grew up as a young lady in the warm southern California weather of Colton, San Bernardino. When she was seventeen years old, she married Orie Finiae Lee. Orie was twenty years old at the time. The couple met in Colton, California. They were married on February 2, 1916.^[3]

Orie Lee 1920.

Orie's mother, Luella Ricord Lee, and his father Joseph Francis Lee, had moved to Colton, California from Lebanon, Missouri by 1913. Living with them was their son, Orie (age 17), and his brothers, Fred and Ray. Orie's father was working for the Brookings Timber and Lumber Company.

Orie and Alberta had three children:

1. Bonnie Rae Lee McClintick, born 30 Mar 1918, in Los Angeles, California.
2. Wendell Orie Lee, born 22 Jun 1922
3. Joy V. Lee Betts, born 1932.

When Alberta was 19 years old, she gave birth to her first child, Bonnie Rae Lee. Bonnie's father, Orie was 22 years old. ^[4]

In 1920, Alberta was living with her husband, Orie, her daughter, Bonnie (age 18 mos.), and her mother, Jennie Hibbard Lewis (age 50). Orie was working as a farm laborer.

Alberta's second child was born on June 22, 1922. His name was Wendell Orie. Wendell was born in Bellflower, California. ^[5]

In 1930, Alberta (age 31) was living with her husband, Orie (age 34), and her two children, Bonnie (age 12) and Wendell (age 7), in Downey, California. Her mother, Jennie Hibbard Lewis (age 60), was still living with her. Orie was in the business of selling watermelons wholesale. ^[6]

In the late 1930's, Orie bought 160 acres of land, east of Cave Junction, Oregon, near the Oregon Caves. Orie and Alberta would move back to Los Angeles every year in order to operate Orie's watermelon business.^[7]

Orie and Alberta 1948.

Alberta suffered from severe osteo-arthritis. She loved to watch wrestling on television and Gorgous George was her favorite. Alberta inspired her grandson, Scott Lee, Profile Manager, to draw by tracing the flowers on her fine china. ^[8]

Alberta and Orie retired and moved permanently to the ranch in Oregon, where she passed away on October 3, 1963. Her body is buried at the Laurel Cemetery, in Cave Junction, Oregon.^[9]

Sources

1. ↑ 1900 U.S. Census for Alberta Lewis Lee; "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMY8-288 : accessed 10 December 2021), Alberta Lewis in household of M A Lewis, Ridgeway Township Carbondale town, Osage, Kansas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 125, sheet 4A, family 69, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,240,494.
2. ↑ Carbondale, Kansas; Wikipedia;Wikipedia contributors, "Carbondale, Kansas," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Carbondale,_Kansas&oldid=1048990630 (accessed December 11, 2021)
3. ↑ 1920 U.S. Census for Alberta Lewis Lee; "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHWZ-PCN : 31 January 2021), Orie F Lee, 1920. (accessed 15 Dec 2021).
4. ↑ Birth of Bonnie Rae Lee; "California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGLW-JW9K : 1 March 2021), Orie Finice Lee in entry for Bonnie Rae Lee, 30 Mar 1918; citing Birth, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States, California State Archives, Sacramento. (accessed 15 Dec 2021).
5. ↑ Birth of Wendell Orie Lee; "California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGLW-9SLR : 1 March 2021), Orin F Lee in entry for Wendale Orin Lee, 22 Jun 1922; citing Birth, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States, California State Archives, Sacramento. (Accessed 15 Dec 2021).
6. ↑ 1930 U. S. Census for Alberta Lewis Lee; "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCF5-QP1 : accessed 16 December 2021), Alberta Lee in household of Ora F Lee, Downey, Los Angeles, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 917, sheet 6B, line 68, family 157, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 126; FHL microfilm 2,339,861. (accessed 15 Dec 2021).
7. ↑ United States Census, 1940 for Alberta Lewis Lee; database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VRRR-G2M : 4 January 2021), Orie F Lee, Althouse Election Precinct, Josephine, Oregon, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 17-1, sheet 2B, line 42, family 34, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 3364. (accessed 15 Dec 2021)
8. ↑ Personal Memory by D. Scott Lee; 15 Dec 2021.
9. ↑ Find a Grave Memorial for Alberta Lewis Lee, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/54941469/alberta-lee : accessed 15 December 2021), memorial page for Alberta Lewis Lee (8 Aug 1898–3 Oct 1963), Find A Grave: Memorial #54941469, citing Laurel Cemetery, Cave Junction, Josephine County, Oregon, USA ; Maintained by Diana Montoya (contributor 46844793) .

• Personal memories by her grandson, Donald Scott Lee.