“Grandpap” is how I knew my maternal grandfather, William Stevenson, Sr. He would have been 100 years old today. He passed away on May 17, 2018, at the age of 92. I spoke at his memorial service, but didn’t write a post about him at the time, so now seems like the next best time to write one. I’ll follow the outline I used at the memorial. These are relatively random memories, but they stood out at the time as vivid recollections of growing up with him.
I was lucky enough to be Grandpap and Grandma’s first grandchild. I was born at a point in my grandparents’ lives where they could spend a lot of time with me, and it felt like I spent pretty much every weekend with them. They lived in a mobile home in Milpitas, CA. At that time, at that age, Milpitas felt like the middle of nowhere, but I still couldn’t wait to get there.
I went everywhere with Grandpap. We did pretty mundane things: washed his car, went to K-Mart, ran errands, and ate lunch at his favorite fish-and-chips place. Most kids would be bored out of their minds, but for some reason, I loved it. I was always fascinated by whatever Grandpap was doing. His morning routine seemed awesome—he had to put his teeth in! At one point, he took the blades out of an old electric razor of his so I could “shave” with him.
Every Sunday we watched Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom and then had a family dinner when my parents came to pick me up. I’m fairly certain my love of nature shows and mashed potatoes came from those Sundays.
I was the last of my friends to learn to ride a bike. (And I’ve been overcompensating ever since!) I was embarrassed that everyone could ride one but me, so Grandpap resolved to teach me. As motivation, he promised that when I could ride one, he’d take me to K-Mart and let me pick any bike I wanted. (It seems odd now that K-Mart would feature so prominently in my memories of Grandpap, but we really did go there all the time!)
Grandpap had a good friend named Tony. We went to Tony’s house to learn to ride, because they had a small enough bike, which also happened to look like Evel Knievel’s motorcycle. Grandpap ran behind me, holding me up by the back of the saddle. Rest assured, this went on longer than he wanted it to, but I was having a great time. Everyone knows how this ended: I looked back to see him a block back, smiling and waving proudly…and I promptly crashed. But it worked! I could ride a bike and was off.
Off to K-Mart, of course! Being the mid-’70s, I picked an orange bike with a red banana seat with a firebird on it. (The Evel Knievel bike was so much cooler! I was a dumb kid.)
I was lucky enough to go on quite a few trips with my grandparents. One trip that stands out was to Death Valley. For some reason, they bought me a bag of Borax as a souvenir from Death Valley. I had that pouch of powder for an unreasonably long time. You don’t hear of kids getting pouches of white powder as souvenirs anymore.
I’ve always been very aware that I was lucky to be born when I was and to have the relationship I did with them. I was the only grandchild to fit squarely in this window in their lives. I wish that all of their grandchildren could have shared this experience.
Grandma died when I was 9, and I’m the only grandchild who has real memories of her. I think that always made my bond with Grandpap a little stronger. He told me how proud she would have been of me when he wanted to tell me how proud he was.
Grandpap spent some time in 1994 reciting what family history he could remember and Grandma Dorothy wrote it down in a notebook. Grandpap always seemed to have an incredible grasp of dates and names. I have no idea if his memory really was accurate, but he was confident, in any case.
He was very proud of his family’s story, and I think he’d have liked for it to be remembered after his passing. So, I’ve taken that notebook and present here a version of that history. It’s been digitized and edited for clarity, grammar, and spelling. Remember that he was dictating, and the notes were handwritten as he spoke. So it needed some work, but I’ve tried to keep it faithful to the original, while making it a bit more readable. It also had a few places that were out-of-order, and I’ve tried to re-assemble it according to the notes that accompanied it. I’m sure the spelling of the names and places have suffered a bit in the telling and processing, so my apologies for any errors.
Family History by Bill Stevenson
Stevensons Start from Wishaw, Scotland
I will tell this story as best I can, recalling conversations with my father, Thomas Arbuckle Stevenson, and my mother, Elizabeth Jane Round Stevenson. My mother was born in Wolverhampton, England, to Matilda and Edwin Round. She was the oldest child in a family of five girls: Elizabeth, Matilda, Mary, Agnes, and Lillian. I also had conversations with my two sisters, Christine and Matilda, and a couple of my brothers.
In 1872, in Wishaw, Scotland, on May 9 of that year, Christine MacKenzie Arbuckle Stevenson and Robert Stevenson had a child whom they named Thomas Arbuckle Stevenson, my father. He was the oldest child in a family of 13 children. The 13 is questionable, but this was told to me by my Aunt Janett (Nettie) Stevenson. I will put down the names of all of them that I can remember seeing and hearing about from Mother and Dad: Thomas; Hugh, who was killed in World War I in France while serving his country in the Gordon Highlanders Army, as my dad did also; John; Joseph; Maggie; Lizzie; and Jeannie. This makes eight I can say I saw or heard of; the other five I can’t say.
In 1884, on April 22, in Wolverhampton, England, Edwin and Matilda Round had a daughter, Elizabeth, my mother. My grandfather Round was a boiler tender in a steel mill, and due to a boiler explosion my grandfather was killed. I don’t know the date, and I don’t know whether the steel mill was in England or Scotland, but sometime after my mother was born, my grandmother Round ended up in Scotland, and she remarried, and her name became Showl. I don’t have all the dates, but sometime before 1904 my dad and a friend of his had a dance hall in Wishaw, Scotland. This is where my father and mother met; they fell in love, and in 1904 they were married. My brother Robert was also born in 1904. I will list the rest: Edward, 1907; John, 1909; Christine, 1911; Thomas, 1915; and Hugh, 1918, all in Scotland.
Sometime in 1912 my dad came to the U.S.A. to find work. He landed on Ellis Island, New York, and from there he came to Nu Mine, Pennsylvania, to be a coal miner, the same work he did in Scotland. He came there at the invitation of one of his female cousins, who came to this country with her husband. Her name was Jean Phillips. My dad found work there, but later on moved to Yatesboro, Pa. After my dad earned enough money, he sent for his wife and four children to come to this country, which they did in 1913. My mother got so homesick for her sisters and families in Scotland that she had to be sent back; my dad stayed in this country. World War I broke out in 1914, so my dad went back and joined the Gordon Highlanders Scotch Army. He was in the army until 1918, when the war ended. Mother and Dad had two more children during this time, Thomas and Hugh.
In 1920 Dad convinced my uncle Sam Williamson to come to this country with him to find work. The good part about this was that Uncle Sam was married to my mother’s sister, Mary. After they earned enough money, my dad loaned money to my uncle Andrew Lockhart, who was married to another one of my mother’s sisters, Matilda. Uncle Andrew brought with him his son Robert. After a short time, they sent for my mother and her two sisters, and their families came here to join their husbands. To give you a picture at this point, my mother and six children, my aunt Mary Williamson and her three children, and my aunt Matilda Lockhart and her 10 children all came over at one time together.
They all landed at Ellis Island, New York, and then came to Pennsylvania. They all lived close to each other, so there wasn’t time to get homesick. The men were all coal miners, and some of the older men’s children were able to work also.
My mother and dad moved to a small mining town named Buttermilk Falls, Pa. There my sister Matilda was born in 1923. In 1924 they moved to Johnetta, Pa., and in 1926 I was born. In 1928 the coal mines in that area were mined out, so we moved to Leechburg, Pa. By this time the Williamsons and Lockharts had moved to different cities: the Williamsons to New Kensington, Pa., and the Lockharts to McKeesport, Pa. These were the final towns for each of us. We visited back and forth quite often until World War II broke out, and then all of the children went into the service and some got married. This split more or less ended our visits to see each other.
All trips made from Scotland to America were made aboard the H.M.S. Columbia.
In Dad’s family, those who came to stay in America were my dad, Thomas, Aunt Lizzie, Aunt Jeanny Dodds, and Aunt Nettie (Janett). I don’t know the date, but later on in life my grandmother Christine Stevenson came to live in America. She is buried in a town in Pennsylvania named Coal Glenn. I never saw any of my grandparents, but my mother told me that Grandmother Stevenson did hold me a few times, though I don’t remember it, as she died when I was very young. My Aunt Maggie did come to America a few times to visit with us, and her two children, George and Mary Wyke, came to America to stay. In fact, George is buried in Santa Monica, California.
In Mother’s family, those who came to stay in America were my mother, Elizabeth Jane Round, Aunt Matilda, and Aunt Mary. The other two stayed in Scotland: Aunt Agnes Hogton and Aunt Lillian Lindsey. Their offspring still live in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Direct Family
I will now start with my direct family.
1904 — Robert
Robert was a coal miner in Scotland and the U.S. He started to work when he was 11 years old in the coal mines. He married a girl named Elizabeth. In Scotland, a woman with the name Elizabeth always ends up being called Lizzie. Lizzie was an Irish Catholic. This didn’t sit well with my dad, but he finally got over it. Mother couldn’t have cared less. Robert had two children, both girls, Elizabeth, named after our mother, and Kathryn. Robert worked up to become the fire boss in the Kinlock Coal Company. He took the test to become a foreman, and he passed it, but he never saw the papers; he was killed in the Kinlock coal mine at the age of 27. He was killed on Friday, November 13, 1931. He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery, just outside of Leechburg, Pa., in Armstrong County.
In 1928 Robert saved 49 men’s lives by bringing them out another entrance that was shut off, but he remembered where it was. He received recognition as a hero in that explosion for saving those other men. His boss and a group of men never came out of the mine. Robert received another award for saving a man in that same mine. I don’t remember the details, but it was for heroism. To this day I have never seen his wife or the two girls. Lizzie remarried and went to Michigan. Our understanding is that she had 10 children all told. Betty and Kathryn did come to see their grandmother and grandfather after they were married, just before my dad died on August 16, 1963. My son Bill Jr. has Robert’s fire boss lamp that Robert used to carry in the mine for detecting gas.
1907 — Edward
Edward is the second child of our family. He was a foreman in West Leechburg Steel Company. He married Flora Grants. He became disenchanted with her, and he left Leechburg and West Leechburg Steel Co. He returned to Leechburg about one month later. He and Flora got divorced, and later he married a woman named Martha Rheins. They had two sons, Donnie and Bob. Donnie is around Leechburg somewhere, and Bob, his wife, and two children live in Seattle, Wash. Eddie was drafted into the Army in World War II. He was in a short while. When he returned home, he worked at the Leechburg steel mill.
1909 — John
John was the third child in our family. He also was a steel worker in West Leechburg Steel Mill. John married Ruth Rheins, who was a sister of Martha’s. John and Ruth had three daughters: Bonnie, Carol Lee, and Judy. Bonnie lives in rural Leechburg. She had one daughter, Jennifer. Carol Lee was born in 1942, and she lived for one year and died in 1943 of pneumonia.
John joined the Navy, and he was given a leave of absence to come home to Carol Lee’s funeral. When he went back after the funeral, he was sent to Hawaii. He was stationed in the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, where he stayed until after the war ended and then was discharged. He returned to Leechburg and to the steel mill, where he retired, and he and Ruth still live in Leechburg. Judy married and, as far as I know, she has no children. She and her husband live in Kansas City, Kansas.
1911 — Christine
Christine is the fourth child in our family, and she and her husband live in Sarver, Pa., which isn’t too far from Leechburg. Chrissie was married to Arthur McGuire. They had one son, William Thomas McGuire. Mickey, as we all called him, is now deceased. He lived in Painsville, Ohio, and was married to Berty; I don’t know her last name. Berty and Mickey had three children that I know of, but there could have been more. Mike, one of Mickey’s sons, is living in Sarver, Pa., at his home on some land that was given to him by his grandmother, my sister Christine. He and his wife have one daughter at this time.
Arthur McGuire was gassed in World War I, and he finally died because of that gas poisoning. Mickey was in the U.S. Navy and served here in the U.S.A. Mickey was raised by my mother and dad, so he was like a son to them. Until I got a little older, I didn’t know that Mickey was my nephew; I thought he was my brother. He called my mother and dad “Ma” and “Daddy,” just like the rest of us did. Christine and Armour Blystone still live in Sarver, Pa.
1915 — Thomas Jr.
Thomas Jr. was the fifth child in our family. He also was a steel worker until he retired after 49 years of service with that company, which later became known as Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corp. Thom married a woman named Alda Knepshield. They had six children: Ronnie, William (Bub), Ritchie, Sandra, Danny, and Linda.
Ronnie was in the U.S. Navy and was discharged early because he got a lung disease (T.B.). He was on a lot of medication because of it, and he was killed in an automobile accident that some people believe was what caused him to lose control of his car. He was 21 years young. Bub lives in Baltimore, Maryland, and works for Montgomery Ward. Richie lives in Ohio and works for General Motors Corp. Sandy is married to Ed Glowatski, and he is a retired bird colonel. They live in Illinois. Danny lives in Leechburg, and he drives a school bus. He used to drive the big rigs until he was in a serious accident and can no longer handle the big rigs. Linda lives in Ford Cliff, which isn’t too far from where Tom and Alda live. Linda has two girls. Tom never served in the military, but his three sons did.
1918 — Hugh
Hugh was the sixth child in our family. Hugh also was a steel worker in the same steel mill the rest worked in. He retired after 47 years with that company. Hugh married a woman named Betty Dobradenka. They had two sons, Thomas and Danny. Tom is a school teacher at Leechburg High School. He has been with them now for 20-some years. He married this summer (1994) to a […] school teacher. Danny is the manager of Busy Beaver, a discount store that is like our Home Depot here in Cal.
Hugh served in the U.S. Army. Most of his time was spent in the China-Burma-India theater. He was a sergeant in charge of loading and unloading cargo planes when they used to fly “Over the Hump” in those countries. He was over there for about three years during World War II. Hugh and Betty still reside in Leechburg, Pa. Tom and Dan live in the Leechburg area.
1923 — Matilda (Tillie)
Matilda was the seventh child in our family. Tillie is a registered nurse but doesn’t practice anymore. She was an ensign in the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps. During World War II she served her time in Philadelphia Naval Hospital. Tillie, as we all call her, married Bud Miller, who was a U.S. Marine. They had one daughter, Patricia. Tillie and Bud divorced after a short marriage, and she and Patty came back to Leechburg and lived with Mother and Dad. Tillie remarried a man named William Ferguson. They had three children: Billy, Betty, and Tom. Patty Miller only knew Bill Ferguson as her dad. Patty was in a serious auto accident (1993) but is O.K. now. She lives in Dunedin, Florida, with her mother and stepdad. Patty had three boys: Rodney, Lynn, and Chris. Betty is married and lives in Texas with her husband and two girls; she may have a son, but I am not sure.
Tom lives in Dunedin, Florida, with his mother and dad. He works for Goodwill Industries. Tillie and Bill have a home in Dunedin, Florida, but also have a summer cottage in Pa., which they go to for about three months out of the year. Before I forget, Bill Jr. lives in Pittsburgh, Pa., and he works for the same company his dad worked for before he retired. Billy and his wife have a son and a daughter still living at home. Bill Sr. served in the U.S. Navy also during World War II.
Matilda Stevenson was the first child born to our mother and dad in the U.S.A. She was born in a little coal-mining town in Buttermilk Falls, Pa. Tillie’s son, Tom Ferguson lives in Ag. Gilbert.
1926 — William (Me)
I was the eighth child born in our family.
It was summer 1943, and I was working as a machinist apprentice at Hyde Foundry & Machine Co. at a salary of $20 a week. I brought my paycheck home to my mother, and she would give me back $5 to spend on my own needs or pleasures. I was 17 years old, and many of my buddies were already in the military. So were my brothers, Hugh and John. My buddy Romanowski and I talked a lot about going into the Marines. So one day four of us went down to the recruiting station together: Steve Bacci, Jimmy Burns, Romanowski, and myself. On my way there, I had second thoughts about joining the Marines and decided to join the Navy instead. My buddy “Polack” did join the Marines. In 1944, Romanowski was killed in the South Pacific. It was a twist of destiny that I often think about; the other three of us went into the Navy recruiter’s office.
After gathering the information and papers about the Navy, I had another hurdle to overcome. Since I was only 17, I had to have my parents’ signature to get into the service. I announced to my mother that I was going to quit my job anyway. But my mother could not be persuaded. Finally, after several weeks of dickering, my dad relented and signed the papers, but not happily.
I served one year in the South Pacific in Navy Air during World War II. Our squadron got as far as the Philippines, and then we were brought back home. After more training, our new squadron was going back to the South Pacific when the war ended. We were back in California, ready to go, when the war ended. I was grounded at that time and finally went back to Pa. for discharge.
I married a beautiful woman named Elizabeth Ethel Eshelman (“Libby,” as she was known to me and all her friends). Libby died of a glioblastoma brain tumor when she was 53. She died in California in 1979, but my daughter and I took her cremains back to Pa. She is buried on the same lot as my mother and dad, my brother Robert, nephew Ronnie, and niece Carol Lee. My cremains will also be buried there with Libby’s.
We had a son, Bill Jr., and a daughter, Charlene. Bill Jr. served in the U.S. Army during Vietnam. Bill is now a maintenance electrician for Hunt & Wesson in Dixon, California. He has a son and a daughter, Jason and Megan, still at home. Charlene is married to Glenn Hill, and they have a son and twin daughters, Scott, Shelley, and Shannon, still at home. Glenn is a technician at Oak Knoll Naval Hospital in Oakland, Cal. Glenn also is a retired chief from the U.S. Navy. Charlene works for Mervyn’s department store in Hayward, Cal. They all live together in Tracy, Cal.
I am now retired from FMC Corp. and have remarried a woman named Dorothy Dolan Kelsh Stevenson, and we live at Sea Ranch, California.
Family Military Service
I mentioned my family being in the military to bring out the fact that from one family we had six serving during World War II. Not too many families had that number of children serving our country during wartime, plus our dad served in World War I. All of us returned home from the war. My dad had a brother killed in France in World War I. Plus a lot of our children served in the military. My son Bill Jr. was wounded in the shoulder in Vietnam.
Those of Us Who Served in World War II
- Edward — Army
- John — Navy
- Hugh — Army
- Matilda (Tillie) — Navy R.N.
- William (Me) — Navy
- Mickey (William) — Navy
Happy birthday, Grandpap. I miss you.
