Can we swing a connection for Ella Fitzgerald?

Question

One of the best known female jazz vocalists of the 20th century is not yet connected to our family tree. Ella needs our help! She has roots in Virginia, which may give us some leads.

It don't mean a thing if we can't connect the Queen... of Jazz :-)

Answer 1

can you believe her profile has no manager, I can not believe she is orphaned here

Answer 2

I've added census records to the sources. The 1920 census shows both her parents, so their birth details have been updated accordingly.

Hope this will help get things started.

Comments

Thanks, Isabelle!

Answer 3

I added several additional categories to her profile, and took a look at any potential connections. She's going to be a bit challenging, as there's little to go on with her parents. Her father seems to have appeared around 1915-1916, just before his daughter was born. He stayed with the family, unmarried (or common-law married) through the 1920 Census, but it doesn't appear that he was there long after that. Then he vanished. There's a couple of potential "candidates" in the 1900-1910 Censuses, but no clear victor in the race.

Her mother also appears to have "appeared" around 1920, and according to Wikipedia, she died in 1932. So only the 1920 and 1930 Cenuses appear to have any information on her. Her step-father is from around Portugal, and unfortunately any records of his childhood and birth may be pretty challenging to obtain.

This leaves any marriages, either to her or her half-sister. Ray Brown is listed on the profile, so I'll look at him a bit closer, but that's a pretty common name. I haven't checked into who her half-sister might have married, so hopefully there's something there that can be tracked.

Comments

Thanks, Scott! It's always frustrating when we come upon these with little to go on.

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I added a boatload of speculations to William Fitzgerald's profile. Not sure any of it is particularly helpful, but it does outline the issue with tracking him further. Too many choices, not enough data to even do a good process of elimination activity. I'll give Ella's husband a shot.

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Found a tiny bit on her husband's family, but not enough to propose a direction for connection. At least there's more family there to possibly help make a connection in the future.

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Tiny clues from Wikipedia, though it will be hard to follow them:

"before the end of April 1933, [Ella] had moved in with her aunt in Harlem." (this would be a maternal aunt)

"[Ray Brown Jr.] was largely raised by his mother's aunt, Virginia" - possibly the same aunt, a sister of Temperance.

I couldn't even reach a conclusion for Temperance's actual LNAB.

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Found this on Ancestry.  Another possible?  Same street name as on 1920 Census.

World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards

Name: William Fitzgerald

Race: Black

Birth Date: 10 Jan 1884

Street address: 25051/2 Madison Ave

Residence Place: Newport News, Virginia, USA

Physical Build: Medium

Height: Tall

Hair Color: Black

Eye Color: Brown

Relative: Tempe Fitzgerald (Transcription Error had first name as Sempe)

Dated 1918.

States he was a longshoreman for the H. R. Stevedore Corp in Newport News.  Tempe same phonetic name as on 1920 Census.

Registration State: Virginia; Registration County: Warwick; Roll: 1991376; Draft Board: 2

Source Information Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.

Original data: United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls. Imaged from Family History Library microfilm.

I leave it to better folks than me to decide.

 

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I looks like this one is him, great find! Congratulations!

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This leads me to believe that he was someone who would stay near the ocean. Perhaps this record is a succeeding marriage?

"Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940," database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XRMT-TM5 : 11 February 2018), William Fitzgerald and Lalar Minns, 29 Nov 1934; citing Norfolk, Va, reference ; FHL microfilm 2,048,493.

He's noted as Widowed, Norfolk is just a few miles from Newport News, and this would be a few years after his breakup with Temperance.

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I think why her mother can't be found is that the there is a wrong surname ... Does anyone know where the surname WILLIAMS comes from (other than FindaGrave notes) ?

Wikipedia says that Temperance was born a HENRY and it says her sister's name was Virginia ... so presumably Virginia HENRY before marriage.

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Find A Grave for Ella says her father was a "wagon driver" - the Census says he was a "Longshoreman" - had to look that up - apparently someone who unloads cargo from ships. So maybe he not only unloaded the cargo, but put it on the wagon and drove it to the warehouse?

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The 1932 date is for somebody in Georgia which doesn't seem right.

Georgia, Death Index, 1919-1998 for Tempie Williams d: 12 Nov 1932 Glynn, Georgia Certificate #26842

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Scott, I have seen a few other possible records that have him as a teamster and of driver of transfer wagons..  1900 and 1920 Census respectively.

Also found a good deal of info on Lalar Minns:

Lalar Anderson

Birth14 Jun 1897 Cofield, Hertford, North Carolina, USA

Death3 Jan 1971 Norfolk, Virginia, USA

Family Info

Father Henry Anderson (1859-)

Mother Nettie B Anderson (1864-)

Spouse Rufus Shepherd (1894-1924)

Children

Rufus (1917-)

Countee (1918-)

Thelma (1921-)

Heywood (1924-)

Spouse William Minns (1883-)

Children

Minnie (1929-)

Spouse William Fitzgerald (1884-)
Married 1934

Also found a Pennsylvania Death Certificate for William Fitzgeralds born Richmond, VA 1885.  Died Feb 3 1935. #11373  Worst Death Cert I have ever seen.  Barely legible and can't make out place of death except it is written on official PA Death Cert.  I believe it says Graduate Hosp.  If so, this is in Philadelphia area.

Well, I am heading back to my family.  Good luck,

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French article mentions mother Temperance «Tempie» Henry
and cousin Georgiana Henry

http://www.jazzhot.net/PBCPPlayer.asp?ID=1901715

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And you connected her, wow, great, congratulations!

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Fantastic work everyone! Wonderful research at play. Thank you :-)

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Can anyone find anything on else on the Nathan BROWN who is now listed as father of Ray BROWN, Sr. who married Ella Fitzgerald ?

Because there are 2 men with the same name of Raymond BROWN both born about 1926 PA.

The other one's line comes from a fairly close relative's ancestry.com family tree. I think this guy is the correct father of the Ray Brown, Sr. who married Ella Fitzgerald ...

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Brown-74649

I found the death certificate for Ella's husband d: 2002 and it definitely says Clifton is his father. Waiting for the trusted list authorization to correct Fitzgerald's husband.

I have now added the second Ray E. Brown and his mother with sources. The non-famous Ray E. Brown is the son of Nathan (or more correctly William).