Green family: The St. Louis years
… tragedy strikes again and Douglas finds his stride as a young man
In 1915, Woodrow Wilson was president, the RMS Lusitania was sunk by the Germans killing over 1,100 civilians, the very first traffic ‘stop signs’ were installed in Detroit, MI, and Tim and Mattie Green (my great-grandparents) moved their family to St. Louis, MO. Douglas (my grandfather) and his younger brother Robert were 9 and 7 years of age when they arrived in the bustling city of 650,000+ inhabitants. A stark contrast from the western town of Lawton, OK they had moved from and the open lands of the Oklahoma Prairie.
St. Louis had been a natural destination for Tim Green (1878-1937) who was trying to distance himself from the financial and legal problems he had encountered in Oklahoma. His oldest brother Benjamin lived near the city and was employed by the St. Louis Post Office. Family connections would help in getting him a transfer and finding a place for the family to settle.
Benjamin F. Green (1868-1934), Tim’s brother, held a prestigious position with the Post Office as a railway post office (RPO) clerk based in Webster Groves, a suburb of St. Louis. According to the Smithsonian National Postal Museum, RPO clerks were “considered by many to be the elite of the mail service.” They were highly skilled and well paid because they worked on the train sorting and processing mail while it traveled between stations.
I found it interesting to discover that Benjamin Green’s appointment to RPO clerk occurred just a few months before Tim had been appointed as a postal carrier in Lawton, O.T. in 1903. This made me wonder what influence Benjamin, who was ten years older than Tim, may have had on Tim’s choice to give up homesteading, which is what had originally brought him to the Oklahoma Territory, to seek Postal Service employment. I also wonder if B.F.’s railway clerk route ever took him west to Lawton. OK, and if so, did the brothers connect? Here’s the news article about B.F.’s appointment to his position in 1902:
With a mail carrier transfer in process, Tim was assigned to the Lafayette branch in the Compton Hills district of the city. The family found an apartment just a few blocks away. The 1916 St. Louis City directory lists their address as 3024 St. Vincent Street. On February 18, 1915, Tim signed his “Oath of the Post Office Employee” and began his postal carrier job in St. Louis providing a fresh start for the family.
From all indications, the family settled in nicely to their new life in St. Louis. Douglas and Robert attended Hodgen Elementary School, a mere three-block walk from their home. The family attended church at the Compton Heights First Christian Church just down the street (photo found in the earlier chapter on Doug and Helen Green). With everything close by, daily life for the family was easily navigated on foot within the Compton Heights community.
But in December 1918, tragedy would again visit the Green family. This time, though it wouldn’t be more financial woes that would plague the family (like those they had experienced in Lawton, OK). This tragedy was actually much worse.
In the fall of 1918, the world experienced a deadly global influenza epidemic, commonly known as the Spanish Flu.
Influenza—more specifically the Spanish flu—left its devastating mark in both world and American history (in 1918). The miroscopic killer circled the entire globe in four months, claiming the lives of more than 21 million people. The United States lost 675,000 people to the Spanish flu in 1918-more casualties than World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War combined. Pharmaceutical companies worked around the clock to come up with a vaccine to fight the Spanish flu, but they were too late. The virus disappeared before they could even isolate it. - Pan America Health Organization, Dec 2024
The first wave of the deadly disease appeared in the spring of 1918. Known also as the “three-day fever”, the flu was a particularly nasty strain of influenza. Once it settled in the lungs of its victim, it was hard to overcome.
In the fall of 1918, St. Louis, with its metro population nearing a million, became one of the hotbeds for infection across the United States. Although the city tried to take precautions by closing some schools and instituting “attendance bans” at movie theatres, vaudeville halls, and public establishments, the virus wreaked havoc on the city’s residents. Newspapers provided updates on the flu’s weekly and often daily infection rates and death tolls. Within a period of just four months over 26,000 cases had been reported in the city with nearly 2000 deaths attributed to influenza and/or pneumonia.
Mattie Green (1883-1918) contracted the virus on December 5th during the second wave of the epidemic. She died at home six days later on December 11th at 10 a.m. She was just 35, leaving behind a husband and two young sons.
Douglas was only 13 when his mother died. Robert, his brother, had just turned 9. I can’t imagine how devastating Mattie’s death was for both of the boys and their father Tim. In a matter of a few days, she was gone. Exactly one week before her death she had helped her youngest son, Robert, celebrate his birthday on Dec 4th. The next day she fell sick and six days later she was dead.
Mattie’s death certificate noted that she died at home (3307 Vincent St). It attributed her death to double pneumonia brought on by influenza.
As far as I can tell no obituary was published regarding her death. I suspect, because of the seriousness of the epidemic, that a proper funeral may have been forgone as well. The only notice I could find of Mattie’s death was her name listed among the hundreds that had died over the course of the last few days in St. Louis. A quick scan of the list that was published on Dec 16th indicates that the majority of the deaths were attributed to either influenza or pneumonia.
Mattie Green was just one among hundreds of causalities that December in St. Louis. According to the newspaper report, she was one of 67 individuals who died from the epidemic on just December 11th alone. This update on flu deaths appeared in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat two days after Mattie Green died:
I’m not sure how the family made it through the coming weeks, months, and years without their family matriarch. They hopefully leaned heavily on family or close friends during this period. Tim’s older brother B.F was the only other Green family member living in St. Louis. The next few years had to have been difficult ones for the family.
The years after Mattie’s death were apparently very quiet ones for the Green men. Tim continued to work delivering mail and the boys continued attending school at Hodgen Elementary. In 1920, Douglas was listed in the newspaper among the elementary school graduates. But beyond this singular mention of his name in the newspaper, I could find relatively nothing in the local press about the family. However, a search of old yearbooks provided better results.
Doug Green attended McKinley High School, a mere 1.2 miles and a 20-minute walk from home. He graduated a semester early in January 1924, which was not unusual for many high-achieving students.
In the 1920s, seniors in the St. Louis school system were allowed to graduate early when they had acquired all the necessary credits. Doug was among 84 students who graduated early in 1924. The Carnation, as the McKinley High School yearbook was called, apparently published two yearbooks each year. One for the January graduating class and an updated version for the June graduates.
A review of the 1924 Carnation yearbook reveals several good photos of Doug Green, who appears to be a tall young man of determination. Doug normally wore glasses, but for his senior photo he chose not to. The notation under his picture provides some nice insights into Doug's four years at McKinley. Surprisingly, he was not involved in any school activities during his junior year. But with his senior year activities, it looks like he more than made up for it. Additionally, the attributes noted in the ‘senior identification table’ appeared to mirror Doug’s determined look in his senior photo and the “Bound to Succeed” moniker noted under his picture. Here are the three attributes noted for Doug in the identification table:
Aim in life is “epitaphs to departed dialogues.” Note: I’m not sure I fully understand this one.
Chief occupation being “At church.” I suspect that this is a nod to Doug’s involvement with church activities.
Chief characteristic as being “Dignity.” This I can easily see in both his senior photo and also the class photos of the activities he was involved in. In these photos, he stands out among his peers as a tall confident young man.
As I noted in an earlier chapter, Doug was apparently quite a gifted singer. I believe this is one of the traits that he inherited from his mother Mattie. In my research, I have found several references to her also lending her vocal gifts to concerts and choir activities. Doug, like his mother, was involved in the church music program. But from his yearbook, it seems this was also an activity that he was very involved in during high school.
McKinley High had a Glee Club that Doug was very active in. In fact, during his senior year at McKinley, Doug was president of the club. The yearbook description of the group seemed to imply that this was a fairly new organization at the school. This has me wondering if Doug didn’t also play an active role in getting this group up and running.
The Glee Club is an organization of boys which meets every Monday and Wednesday the sixth period. It’s purpose is to give boys who appreciate singing opportunity to show their talent. The club is doing very well and learning some snappy songs. All boys who wish to join, see Mr. Maginn.
- McKinley High, Carnation Yearbook 1924
In addition to holding a leadership role in the high school’s Glee Club, Doug was also the Finance Committee Lead for the Student Council. His glasses make him easy to spot in the Student Council photo. Standing on the stairs and leaning against the stone rail, he looks confidently relaxed wearing a bow tie.
As I perused the McKinley High yearbook, I stumbled across another interesting family find. The young gentleman in the center of the top back row (also wearing a bow tie) is Cullen Coil, who was my grandmother’s (Helen Hinkson) first cousin. Cullen was the oldest son of the Rev. James H. Coil and Virginia Ray Northcutt. He was a year behind Doug in school. From this photo, it’s apparent that they probably knew each other well before Doug Green met and married my grandmother, Helen, in 1936.
Lastly, the yearbook noted that Doug Green participated in football his senior year. The description of the school’s three fall football games noted that the team was short several seasoned starters due to injuries and that bulk of the roster were fresh recruits. Doug was one of the fresh recruits. He never started a game, but he was listed as a sub in the game against neighboring Cleveland High. Unfortunately the team lost the game badly (Cleveland 20, McKinley 0) and suffered a disastrous season.
I am at a loss looking at all the faces in this team photo to figure out which one is Doug. I believe he may be the 3rd from left in the front row or the tall boy in a suit and tie, back row center (4th from right). ButI can’t figure out if he’s in a suit why he is not wearing his glasses. Perhaps other members of my family can weigh in with their thoughts.
In the fall of 1924 Doug Green entered college at Washington University in St. Louis. He lived at home with his father and brother during college at 3311 Saint Vincent St. In comparing this address to the family’s previous one, its apparent they had moved to a new apartment, next door on the same street, shortly after Doug’s mother's death.
I don’t know much about Doug’s college years. However, I was able to request access to his college transcript with proof of my relationship as his granddaughter (note for other family researchers: copies of birth certificates and ID required). What I found in the transcripts was interesting.
It’s apparent by the amount of chemistry, math, and physics classes that Doug took he was working on a degree most likely in engineering. Although neither his transcript or college yearbook photo noted the actual degree, beyond an Arts Bachelor’s degree, the occupation “industrial engineer” did appear next to his name in the 1929-1933 St. Louis city directories.
The college grading system was a lot more strict 100 years ago. B and Cs were more commonplace than As and much harder to obtain in the 1920s. The transcript below also notes the preparatory classes that Doug took in high school.
Doug graduated from Washington University in the spring of 1928. His yearbook photo contains no additional notes or any activities in which he was involved. I suspect that this was an oversight. Perhaps Doug missed the yearbook filing date. Regardless, it’s easy to once again pick out Douglas Green among the 1928 graduates. He has that same “dignified” look that his high school yearbook noted as his “chief characteristic.”
After college Doug would gain employment at the International Shoe Company, headquartered in St. Louis. As I’ve already covered this part of Doug’s life in an earlier chapter, I’ll wrap up this one with a little bit more about the other Green family men.
Tim Green, Doug’s father, continued to work as a postal mail carrier in St. Louis for the remainder of his life. He was stationed out of the Lafayette Post Office which was found at 3209 Lafayette St, less than three blocks away from the Green home base. I know this because it’s the information that Tim shared on his 1918 draft registration. At that time, his wife Mattie was still alive. The post office building he worked out of no longer exists.
Through a request with the National Archives & Records Administration (located ironically in St. Louis), I was surprisingly able to obtain the employment cards for Tim’s years with the Post Office in both Lawton and St. Louis. Tim’s record shows years of dedication and steady salary increase. At the time of his death in 1937, Postal Carrier #776 earned $2,100/year.
Tim’s older brother Benjamin moved in with the Green family sometime in the late 1920s. He is listed as living with the Green family (along with Douglas, age 24, and Robert, age 21) at 2923 St. Vincent Street in the 1930 census. Benjamin died in March 1934 in Morgan, Ill. I assume he had by that time moved in with one of his children or another family member.
Surprisingly, in my research, I also learned that Tim’s younger brother, Robert Ernest Green (1881-1958) also found his career with the US Postal Service. Like Tim’s older brother Benjamin, he was a railway postal clerk. It’s not a far stretch to believe that Tim’s second son, Robert Oscar, was named after his brother and father.
It was 15 years before Tim Green ever remarried. When he did in 1933 he married another widow, Mrs. Bertha Tackaberry Emberton. By that time he had moved a few blocks south to 1803 Longfellow Street, still within the familiar Compton Hills neighborhood.
I knew Bertha as “Granny Green” and I believe I only ever once met her in person when I was very young. I believe the photo below was taken outside the building Tim lived in. Perhaps it was on their wedding day.
The marriage lasted four years before Tim died on November 6, 1937. He was 59 years old. The cause of death was heart disease (coronary occlusion and chronic myocarditis).
The announcement of Tim’s death was short and concise. Not a lot of elaboration or overindulgence, similar to how Tim himself seemed to live out his later life. He was buried next to Mattie in the Valhalla Cemetery, St. Louis, MO.
As for Robert “Bob” Green (1908-1988), Doug’s younger brother, I have found only a little that I can report. There was no photo of him in his high school yearbook (only his name was listed as a graduate). Because of the circumstances of his adult life, I know relatively little about him. I can recall that my grandmother did tell me once that Doug’s brother had been committed to an insane asylum and that she believed he died there. According to my aunt, Robert had supposedly told Helen (my grandmother) that she should “not spend any more time on him” after Doug (Robert’s brother and Helen’s husband) had died in 1941. In my sleuthing, I was able to confirm part of my grandmother’s statement. Robert did spend many years in the state sanitarium. But fortunately, he did not die there.
In both the 1940 and 1950 censuses Robert is listed as living at the Missouri State Sanitarium/ Mental Hospital. Since neither the 1960 nor 1970 censuses are available yet, I have no idea how long Robert was in the asylum. Neither do I have any idea from what mental illness he suffered. At some point though, he was released. I suspect it was around 1969, the same year he was issued a Social Security number. He would have been 60 years of age at the time. I’m guessing it was issued to provide him with some disability benefits. But perhaps it may have also been issued for employment purposes.
As far as careers, it seems that Robert had some experience with the tailoring industry before he entered the sanitarium. In the 1930 census, Robert is listed as being 21 years of age and working as a “Marker” for a “Tailoring co.” Beyond these census listings, I know relatively little about why he was committed, when he got out, or how he lived out his later years. I did find that he died in 1988 and had been living in Farmington, MO at the time of his death. His obituary indicated that he never married and had no family. It said that he worked as a cutter for a “local tailor shop.” I don’t know if this statement relates to his employment before or after his time in the state sanitarium, or perhaps, both.
In researching where Robert was buried, I found two photos of his headstones on FindAGrave.com. He is buried in Pendleton Cemetery, near Farmington, MO. From the photos online, it’s apparent that Robert, aka “Bobby”, was apparently well-loved by someone. An updated marker to his grave was added sometime after his death with the salutation “We will always remember you.” I would love to know who took care of adding this remembrance for him. With both his parents and only sibling deceased, I am glad to know that he was not forgotten after spending so many years in a state mental hospital. Perhaps at a later time, I’ll try and dig more into his story.
Addendum I:
Thanks to my cousin, Marianne, I have a bit more info to add to the Robert Green story. In combing thru old boxes that she had recovered from my aunt’s basement, she recovered the admittance document for Robert. He was admitted by his father on September 1, 1933. Marianne’s notes captured from previous family conversations noted that Robert suffered from schizophrenia and that Douglas choose not to visit his brother while he was in the sanitarium. Helen, my grandmother, respected Doug’s decision even after he died.
Addendum II:
Doug Green card for the Society of Christian Endeavor, a youth extension of the interdenominational Christian church. Thank you Marianne for sharing this.
