American Murder about 1930?

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Have a good nights rest 

Thank you for all your help
Appriciate it alot

Sharon

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James Green's widow Evelyn called me tonight... my phone call paid off and we talked for 2 hrs.... nice sweet lady.

Letitia wanted her story told and I think we now have it...

She was not murdered as Aunt Irene told me... I do have proof of that with my notes from the mid 1960s that I will scan and put on this message board to show that was what she told me...Why she said that I don't know ecept that maybe that was what she [Irene]  thought happen  when Letitia got the stroke and died from it at age 45 cause she was a single mother trying to raise 2 children and to her James Henry Green Sr was the murderer.  Who knows....

Letty died in 1934 in Pittsburgh she had a stroke and laid for 10 days before she died Evelyn told me. They don't know where she was buried as it was a public grave as there was no money.  She was a domestic in a private home and also baked pies for the big hotels in Pittsburgh to help keep the family togeather.  when James was 10 he was hit by a car and the fender cut his face really bad and he was weeks in hospital and had over 100 stitches in his face there was a settlement of over 10,000 dollars paid out to him but the money disappeared...

She divorced James Green because he drank and was an alcholic... When she died the kids were placed in the foster care system and lived with a Miss or Mrs Barbara Deedson [sp] for a yr till she got sick and couldn't care for them  She took foster kids in to her house and took care of them... She was a neighbor of the Steffys and she asked them to take care of them as James was good friends with their son Donald.  Donald and James remained friends for life... James also called Donald's mother Mother as he was very close to her.  

Evidently Letitia told her children something of the Ellards but she said that James knew the name but not how he knew it... Letitia is down on his birth certificate as Letitia Pye.   James Green sr died someime after 1945 as that was the last time they saw him  He really never came around after they divorced  He was an alcholic to the end  His home was the bars She did say they found him one time and gave him clothes and money and told him they would be back next week  When they came back next week he was gone  The bartender told them that the minute they left he was out the door to sell the clothes they gave him and drank all the money and that was the last time they ever saw him.  No idea when he died or where he was buried at.  He told them that he had a brother and a uncle only and when they went back to Butler one time they met some of his family and found out he had 11 other siblings... Guess he was the black sheep of the family.

Dorothy   Letitia's daughter   went into service when she turned 16 as that age back then 16 was considered being out of foster care and you took care of yourself  She worked for a Jewish family in Pittsburgh and met her first husband through them  He was Edwin Richardson.  They had a daughter and son  The son died in 1995 or 94 96 in Pittsburgh Pa  He was married and had 3 daughters.  He was a nurse and helped to take care of Donald Seffy when he was dying of stomach cancer.  Her   daughter Dorothy also is alive and lives in Pennsylvania    Edwin's mother was a Judge in Pennsylvania.   Dorothy married 2 more times the last time to Paul Gatto.  She died in Texas in  2006 at her granddaughters home in Plano Texas.  

 End of part 1  you are only allowed 5500 characters per post

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Part 2 of my previous post

Dorothy Green Gatto's obit

I found her obit on Ancestry of all places

Name: Dorothy Green Gatto   Other relation: Dorothy Richards   Birth: abt 1919   Death: 08/02/2006   Publication: 22 Aug 2006 in New Bern, NC, Us   
Locations Mentioned in Obituary: New Bern
Dallas, TX
Plano, TX
Kingsland, TX
McKeesport, PA
Butler, PA
 
 
Obituaries
August 22,2006
SUN JOURNAL STAFF
Dorothy Green Gatto

KINGSLAND, Texas Dorothy Green Gatto, 87, formerly of New Bern, died Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2006, at the home of her granddaughter in Plano, Texas.

Born in Butler, Pa., she was employed by Montgomery Ward from 1973 to 1981. She lived in New Bern until 1994, when she moved to Texas to be with her daughter and granddaughter.

A memorial service will be held at a later date.

She is survived by one daughter, Dorothy Richards of McKeesport, Pa.; four grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

Arrangements by Heritage Cremation Service, Dallas, Texas.

Dorothy and Evelyn were very good friends.... when Donald Seffy got cancer he called Evelyn to come and help take care of him so she and Dorothy went to Pennsylvania and took care of him till they had to go back to NC as Donald didn't have anyone to take care of him so they had to put him in a nursing home and then they got Dorothys son Edwin to come to the nursing home every day to ck on him and shave him ect...   Dorothy was married 3 times. evelyn didn't say what her 2nd husbands name was

Evelyn said that neither James /Jim as she called him or Dorothy never talked much about their childhood... she said when Jim and her were married they would go up to Butler to visit my GGrandmother Kate Naylor who Jim knowing that she was not his grandmother still called her granny twice a yr till she died.    She said Jim always wanted to know if G-Granny had any pictures of his mother as he never had one.  She said that Letitia was a good woman and Jim loved his mother dearly.  Evelyn and Jim never did have any children but she is in close contact with Dorothy's daughter Dorothy and will call her tomorrow and tell her of my call to her. 

Evelyn married again in 2000 and still lives in New Bern NC  She said she is blessed to have had 2 marriages with good men. 

So thats it with Letitia Ellard Pye Green... her story is told now and I think her spirit can rest.  I guess she got tired of me looking for her murder all these and there wasn't one... so she decided to let me know what happen in the end.

[Finley 1]

Well . I have read this all with great interest.  Thank you for Posting.  Good results.
I see how the fact that she was thought to have been murdered came about..
God bless her and lets hope she has come back to enjoy a wonderful new life.

xin

[MonicaL]

Sharon, I am so happy for you that you have been able to find the true story of Leticia and her descendants. Her life sounds like it was a hard life, for all the reasons mentioned. To have had a savage ending would have been beyond the imagination. As it is, her ending is also incredibly sad after everything that had happened.

It is remarkable how close James her son became to the Steffy family, which shows how kind they must have been to him in the years following Leticia's sudden death.

Thank you for sharing all of this with us 

Monica

[Trees]

Monica can I add my thanks to you for your hard work on this It is great to know that there was not the violent end we feared.
Sharon how wonderful to find a new relation  to talk to.
Thank you and Ron for bringing all this to my attention do keep in touch. If you want any of the Ellard history do look at our web site and ask if I can help along the way
Its been great meeting you
Trees

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I want to thank everyone on this board that helped to contributed ideas and information found to Letitia's story. 

Without the help and new set of eyes and ideas it would have been harder to find things and end Letitia's story.

You guys have been a tremendous help and I think that Letitia had a big hand in this also.

 I am going to miss you guys   

Take care and God Bless

Sharon

[Trees]

Don't miss us Sharon let us share any other research you are persuing  or just come into the lighterside board for a moment of relaxation