Minnie May Winspear

Minnie was born about 10 years after the Civil War, and lived well into the 20th century. What must it have been like to live during that time of leaping changes in technology in the modern world? She started her life without electricity, indoor plumbing, or motorized vehicles. She ended her life after cars had been around for dozens of years, electricity had passed the threshold of television, air conditioning, and telephones that would allow you to talk to someone across the globe almost instantaneously. Even her name reflected the changing times: Minnie was an extremely popular name during the 1870's, and continued to be popular a few dozens of years, but declined gradually until now, when it's very unusual to meet someone named Minnie.

Minnie May Winspear and Clifford L. White

Parents: Wheelock Winspear, Ellen Eve Rowe
Birth: October 21 or December 5, 1877
Marriage: June 7, 1899 to Clifford Levi White. Minnie was 22 and Cliff was 24.
               Their only child was Clifford Winspear White, my great-grandfather.
Death: 1971

Birth record for Minnie Winspear:

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This record is pretty self-explanatory, but it shows Minnie's birth date. As you will see in the other records I've found for her, this is an elusive date! I'm not sure if this is the correct date or not. We also get Ellen's middle initial from this record: E. I'm pretty sure this is the actual record for Minnie, however. I didn't find any other women named Minnie with parents of similar names when I was looking her up.

1880 Census:

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This is the only census I could find with Minnie in it before her marriage. I felt really proud of myself for finding her in this one, since she's listed as Minetta (I think it's a write-o). I found this record by looking up her father's and mother's names. Here she's 2 years old. You can also see her grandmother (Kate, short for Catherine :) and aunt in the two rows above the Wheelock Winspear family. We also see that Minnie's mother was born in England, as well as both of Minnie's maternal grandparents. Minnie's father's family is from New York. I wonder what brought them to Ohio?

Marriage license and certificate for Minnie May Winspear and Clifford Lee White:

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Whew! This document has a TON of information! We get the full names of both bride and groom, we get their birth dates (This shows Minnie's as December 5, in conflict with the birth record that I found for her). We also get each parent's name or maiden name. Maiden names are priceless in family history research, by the way! We also see that Minnie was born and raised in Pierce Township, since she is listed as living at the "same place" as where she was born. 

We also get crucial information about Clifford Lee (or is it Levi? I think I saw that name somewhere ... ) from this record, but I will discuss that in his entry.

1900 Census:

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This is (barely) less than a year after Cliff and Minnie's marriage. This census is another source that lists Minnie's birth month as December. I'm pretty sure that even if Minnie was born in October, she was convinced that she was born in December. Another thing we see from this census is that the family is renting their home, and must live in or near town, since they don't have a farm.

1910 Census:

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From this census, you can see that Cliff Sr. and Minnie were a little bit older when Cliff Jr. was born. In fact, he was born over 7 years after they married! They sure did have a long wait. I'm sure they treasured their only son that they had waited so long for. I remember hearing that Cliff, Jr. was a "spoiled only child," but I suspect that his parents couldn't help it. They had waited so long for this child.

We also see that Cliff Sr. still worked as a "livery man" at a livery stable. If I understand the census taker's shorthand correctly, Cliff Sr. was the employer at the livery stable. The family still rented a house that was not on a farm.

1920 Census:

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In this census, we see that Cliff Sr. is working on his "own account" (OA on the far right) as a manager at a garage. This is probably a natural transition from the livery stable as the country was transitioning from horses to automobiles as their main mode of transportation. It's also interesting to see that Minnie was working outside the home, even though two-income families were much less common during this time period. I don't know what the "creamery office" was, but she was the manager of it. I think that's pretty impressive for a woman from her time period. The family now owns the house that they're living in, but they have a mortgage on it.

1930 Census:

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Minnie isn't working anymore by the time 1930 rolls around. For some reason, the family is renting again.Cliff Jr. had just moved out and married the beautiful Jo Grupenhoff, so Minnie and Cliff, Sr. are empty-nesters. I imagine that it must have been especially lonely for Minnie, since she didn't work anymore. However, it's possible that she was able to visit with her neighbors to pass the time.

1940 Census:

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Here's a big change! Minnie and Cliff, Sr. own their own home, and it's beautiful and spacious. White Acres housed Minnie and Cliff, Sr. on one side and their son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren on the other. Cliff, Sr. was a "monument" (aka gravestone) salesman, and Minnie stayed at home, which I imagine she did for the remainder of her life.

Minnie lived into her 90's. Her only grandchild lived in Baltimore with his three children, Minnie's great-grandchildren. She outlived her husband by six years. I don't know much about the remainder of her life, but I hope it was happy and fulfilling.