Nella Chatfield & McElhiney/Mote

FAMILY LINE AND HISTORY

Nellie Mary “Nella May” Chatfield
5th of 10 children of Charles Henry Chatfield & Nellie Belle Chamberlin
Occupation: Diamond Match, night shift Moore Dry Dock Shipyard WWII, Sears & Roebuck food concession, cook/housekeeper for priests
Born: Mar 11, 1903, Rifle, Garfield Co., Colorado
Died: Nov 21, 1983 (age 80), Martinez, Contra Costa Co., California; stroke
Buried: Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Lafayette, Conta Costa Co., California
Married (1): April 25, 1926, Edward Walden “Ed” McElhiney, Chico, Butte Co., California
Divorced: Sep 15, 1936, Oakland, Alameda Co., California; grounds of cruelty
One child: Roy Waldon Joseph “Buster/Mac” McElhiney
Married (2): abt 1931, Louis Lee “Louie” Mote
Divorced
One child: Mary Ellen [Mote] McElhiney

Edward Walden “Ed” McElhiney (m.1)
1st of 2 children of Edward Gayle “Ed” McElhiney & Clara May Payne
Occupation: Brakeman/conductor for Southern Pacific Railroad, Truckee, Nevada Co., California
Affiliation: Member of U.T.U. Southern Pacific No. 1043
Born: Nov 30, 1905, Loomis, Phelps Co., Nebraska
Died: May 26, 1972 (age 66), Reno, Washoe Co., Nevada
Buried: Mountain View Cemetery in Reno, Washoe Co., Nevada
Married (1): April 25, 1926, Nellie Mary “Nella May” Chatfield, Chico, Butte Co., California
Divorced: Sep 15, 1936, Oakland, Alameda Co., California; grounds of cruelty
One son: Roy Waldon Joseph “Buster/Mac” McElhiney
Two McElhiney daughters were born to Nellie Mary “Nella May” Chatfield
Married (2): Sep 24, 1939, Iola May Swart, Reno, Washoe Co., Nevada
No children

IOLA MAY SWART
Daughter of Clarence Aaron Swart & Elizabeth Thomas
Born: May 30, 1907, Nevada
Died: Oct 30, 1980 (age 73), Reno, Washoe Co., Nevada
Buried: Mountain View Cemetery in Reno, Washoe Co., Nevada
Married: Sep 24, 1939, Edward Walden “Ed” McElhiney, Reno, Washoe Co., Nevada
No children

Louis Lee “Louie” Mote (m.2)
Son of Robert Lee Mote & Elin Annie (Eklund) Boothe
Occupation: Diamond driller 
Born: Sep 5, 1911, Buhl, Twin Falls Co., Idaho
Died: Feb 10, 1955 (age 43), Wallace, Shoshone Co., Idaho; hemorrhage, severe cirrhosis of the liver
Buried: United Cemetery (now Nine Mile Cemetery) in Wallace, Shoshone Co., Idaho
Married (1): abt 1931, Nellie Mary “Nella May” Chatfield
Divorced
One child: Mary Ellen [Mote] McElhiney
Married (2): Agnes Louise Amen
Divorced: Jun 16, 1947, Agnes Louise (Amen) Mote, Payette Co., Idaho; ground of grievous mental suffering and bodily injury

AGNES LOUISE AMEN
Daughter of Gustaf David “Gus” Amen & Eliza Jane Miller
Born: Jul 26, 1912, Emmett, Gem Co., Idaho
Died: Dec 2, 2000 (age 88), Boise, Ada Co., Idaho
Buried: Emmett Cemetery in Emmett, Gem Co., Idaho
Married (1): Aug 3, 1932, Harold Sanford Copenhaver, Malheur Co., Oregon
Divorced: Harold Sanford Copenhaver by 1941
No children
Married (2): Louis Lee ” Louie” Mote
Divorced: Jun 16, 1947, Louis Lee “Louie’ Mote, Payette Co., Idaho
No children
Married (3): Dec 29, 1947, Jack Edward Evans, Boise, Ada Co., Idaho

1. Roy Waldon Joseph “Buster/Mac” McElhiney 
Son of Nella May Chatfield & Edward McElhiney
Military: June 12, 1945, enlisted in U.S. Army during WWII, Private
Occupation: Gas & oilman, firemen, raised hogs after retirement
Born: Dec 2, 1926, Chico, Butte Co., California
Died: Nov 3, 2004 (age 77), Broken Arrow, Wagoner Co., Oklahoma; leukemia, pneumonia
Cremated: Nov 8, 2004, Ft. Gibson Nat Cemetery in Fort Gibson, Oklahoma
Married (1): 1952, Patricia Elizabeth Addison (married 11 years)
Two children: Michael Patrick McElhiney, Colleen “Lisa” Marisa McElhiney
Married (2): 1963, Marceil “Marcia” ____
Annulled: Jun 4, 1965, (annulled after 5 months), Oakland, Alameda Co., California
Married (3): Jan 14, 1966, Mae (Miche) Clark (married 19 years), Contra Costa Co., California
Married (4): May 19, 1983, Barbara Louise Nichols, Miami, Ottawa Co., Oklahoma (married 21 yrs)

2. Mary Ellen Mote (took the name of McElhiney)
Only child of Nella May Chatfield & Louis Lee Mote
Occupation: St. Mary’s College/secretary receptionist
Born: Dec 25, 1931, Highland Hospital in Oakland, Alameda Co., California
Died: Jul 25, 1982 (age 50), Walnut Creek, Contra Costa Co., California; cirrhosis of the liver
Buried: Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Lafayette, Contra Costa Co., California
Married (1): Jun 28, 1948, James Prunty, Oakland, Alameda Co., California
Married (2): Sep 26, 1954, Robert Freitas, Oakland, Alameda Co., California
Married (3): abt 1967, Jules Valentine Accardi, Jr., Nevada (divorced 1971)

3. McElhiney daughter born to Nellie Mary “Nella May” Chatfield (information private)

4. McElhiney daughter born to Nellie Mary “Nella May” Chatfield (information  private)

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Timeline and Records

Ten children of Charles Henry Chatfield & Nellie Belle Chamberlin:
1. Charles Joseph “Charley” Chatfield
1895 – 1986
2. Leo Willard Chatfield
1897 – 1956
3. Howard Francis Chatfield
1899 – 1953
4. Roy Elmer Chatfield
1901 – 1978
5. Nellie Mary “Nella May” Chatfield
1903 – 1983
6. Gordon Gregory Chatfield
1905 – 1948
7. Verda Agnes Chatfield
1908 – 1978
8. Arden Sherman Chatfield
1910 – 1981
9. Ina Jacqueline Chatfield
1913 – 1993
10. Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield
1915 – 1968

Two children Edward Gayle “Ed” McElhiney & Clara May Payne
1. Edward Walden “Ed” McElhiney
1905 – 1972
2. Evelyn L. McElhiney
1908 – listed in 1920 census

Three known children of Robert Lee Mote & Alin Annie Eklund:
1. Louis Lee “Louie” Mote
1911 – 1955 
2. Vera Annie Mote
1913 – 1996
3. Jack Eklund Mote
1916 – 1958

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Mar 11, 1903: Birth of Nellie Mary “Nella May” Chatfield, 5th of 10 children of Charles Henry Chatfield & Nellie Belle Chamberlin, in Rifle, Garfield Co., Colorado. A tow-headed wisp of a child, she was estimated to be two-and-a-half pounds when she was born, so teeny her mother kept her in a shoebox warmed by the woodstove.

Note: For the purpose of keeping everyone straight, I have used “Nella May” rather than Nellie or Nellie May throughout, so as not to confuse her with her mother Nellie. In life, she went by Nellie May.

circa Aug 1906: Spring Creek, Big Horn Co., Wyoming:
On the back of this picture is handwritten: “Uncle Elmer’s ranch above Tensleep”

Note: Elmer Ellsworth Chatfield, Charles Henry Chatfield, and Jacquelin (Chatfield) Adams are siblings; pictured are 13 of their combined offspring (ages approximate):
standing: Helen, Marion Chatfield, Charles, Sevilla, Marion Adams, Leo, Howard, Roy, Kathryn, Nella May (at far right)
seated: the family dog, Audrey holding two babies, Gordon and/or Constance
Helen Layle Chatfield: born Feb 15, 1894 (age 12), daughter of Elmer & Della
Marion Hortense Chatfield: born Feb 25, 1896 (age 10), daughter of Elmer & Della
Charles Joseph Chatfield: born Nov 18, 1895 (age 9) Charles & Nellie, son
Sevilla Maude Chatfield: born Oct 18, 1898 (age 7), daughter of Elmer & Della
Marion Jacqueline Adams: born Apr 24, 1898 (age 8), daughter of Jacquelin & Fred
Leo Willard Chatfield: born Oct 23, 1897 (age 8), son of Charles & Nellie
Howard Francis Chatfield: born Jun 13, 1899 (age 7), son of Charles & Nellie
Roy Elmer Chatfield: born Mar 20, 1901 (age 5), son of Charles & Nellie
Kathryn “Kate” Adams: born Jan 31, 1903 (age 3), daughter of Jacquelin & Fred
Nella Mae Chatfield: born Mar 11, 1903 (age 3), daughter of Charles & Nellie (at far right)
black dog
Audrey Ella Chatfield: born Nov 27, 1900 (age 5), daughter of Elmer & Della
2 babies (note: assuming Gordon is on the left and Constance is on the right):
Gordon Gregory Chatfield: born Dec 20, 1905 (8 mo), son of Charles & Nellie
Constance Cordelia Chatfield: born Dec 18, 1905 (8 mo), daughter of Elmer & Della

Apr 23, 1910: Federal Census for Sanders School District, Rosebud Co., Montana:
Chatfield, Chas: head, age 39, married 16 years, born Colorado, father born Illinois, mother born Texas, farmer
Nellie: wife, age 37, married 16 years, born Montana, father born New York, mother born Pennsylvania
Chas: son, age 14, born Colorado, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri
Leo: son, age 12, born Wyoming, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri
Howard: son, age 10, born Colorado, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri
Roy: son, age 9, born Colorado, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri
Nellie May: daughter, age 7, born Colorado, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri
Gordon: son, age 4, born Wyoming, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri
Verda: daughter, age 1, born Montana, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri
Chamberlain, Mamie: sister-in-law, age 23, single, born in Texas, father born New York, mother born Pennsylvania, saleslady
Gregory, Anson: hired man, age 19, single, born Illinois, father born Illinois, mother born Illinois
Note: Nellie’s 23-year-old sister, Mamie Chamberlin, is living with Nellie and her family

Headstones, Hearsay, and a Little History:
In 1915 the Chatfield family moved to the up and coming agricultural town of Chico, buying a fairly new two-story corner residence in the Chapmantown district, a working-class neighborhood near the Diamond Match Factory. In those days most people rented; few owned their own homes. With only two upstairs bedrooms, the boys sharing one, the girls the other, it was a small house for a large family. Downstairs, Grandma Chatfield created a tiny sleeping space for herself in an alcove under the stairway, keeping the small downstairs bedroom for company. Grandpa, always on the outs with Grandma, slept in the shed.

Jan 26, 1920: Federal Census for Chico, Butte Co., California:
Chatfield, Charles H.: head, owns, age 49, born Colorado, father born Illinois, mother born Texas, foreman for rice ranch
Nellie C.: wife, age 46, born Montana, father born New York, mother born Pennsylvania
Charles J.: son, age 24; born Colorado, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri, laborer rice ranch
Leo W.: son, age 22; born Wyoming, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri, laborer, rice ranch
Roy E.: son, age 18; born Colorado, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri, Lumber Grader in Match Factory
Nellie M.: daughter, age 16; born Colorado, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri, Forewoman in Match Factory
Gordon G.: son, age 14; born Wyoming, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri
Verda A.: daughter, age 11; born Montana, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri
Arden I.: son, age 9, born Montana, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri (Arden S.)
Ina J: daughter, age 6, born Montana, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri
Norine E.: age 4 3/12, born California, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri (Noreen)
Note: Charles is working for the Spaulding ranch 16 miles west of Chico, as a foreman harvesting rice.

1920: Chico City Directory, Chico, Butte Co., California:
Chambers Josie b 1339 Esplanade C V
Chatfield Chas H (Nellie) farmer r Boucher av ne cor Irwin
Chatfield Howard b Chas Chatfield
Chatfield Leo auto op b Boucher ad ne cor Irwin
Chatfield Nellie box fdr D M Co r Boucher ad ne cor Irwin
Chatfield Roy farmer r Boucher av ne cor Irwin
Note: Josie (Jo Chambers) is the girlfriend of Roy Chatfield

Headstones, Hearsay, and a Little History:
It was in 1920 that Nella May, at sixteen and the eldest Chatfield daughter, went to work at the Diamond Match Factory. She made good money for the day, spending most of her salary on stylish clothing. A clotheshorse, young and single, she had an extensive wardrobe, $500 (more than ten times that value today) worth of fancy brimmed hats, winter wool coats tied at the waist, long calf-length plaid skirts topped with cream-colored blouses featuring velvet ribbon running through the neckline, sashed blouses tied to the side in streamers, and sheer blouses cinched just below the waist with a big side bow that fell straight to tunic length, camisoles underneath. She was generous with her pay and bought her sisters clothes too. Ina never liked what her sister chose, but she couldn’t complain; it would hurt Nella May’s feelings, as she was so good, kind, and true.

There was a group of free-spirited beauties working at Diamond Match. Dressed in their uniforms, bloomers tucked inside their knee-stockings, hats protecting their hair, they stood together boxing matches. Before the final wrapping, they carefully wrote their names on small white cards and inserted them inside the boxes. Men often wrote back to them in care of the match company, enclosing photos of themselves and their friends. Usually, just pen pal letters, but some of these correspondences blossomed into romances. When they could, the eligible young men arranged to meet the girls at the dance hall in Paradise, a half hour’s drive from Chico. Everyone danced at the dance hall in Paradise.

There was a time my grandmother worked at Diamond Match, employed as a wrapper, a floor lady, and then as a supervisor. In 1926 and 1927, my grandfather worked there too. So did some of their children: Howard, Verda, Nella May, Gordon and his wife, Hylda, and Roy and his sweetheart, Jo. Diamond Match was one of the largest manufacturing companies in America. The railroad line skirting the Chico plant carried lumber directly from its Stirling mountain operations and stored the dry lumber in the Chico yard until processed. The largest employer in Chico until its doors closed in 1958, Diamond manufactured wood matches and matchboxes, doors and sashes, veneer and plywood, wooden produce boxes, apiaries, and bee-keeping supplies. Much of the timber went to build the stately homes in San Francisco. It was a huge enterprise that included a machine shop, a foundry, and millworks along with an employee social hall, baseball diamond, and badminton courts. The west end of 16^th Street led directly into the 133-acre site and was within walking distance of the Chatfield home on Boucher Street.

Apr 26, 1922: Letter to Nella May from an admirer, Henry Huick, Jr., who she met dancing in Paradise:

1923: Chico, Butte Co., Calfornia:
Nella May was a looker, small-boned and delicate, just over five feet tall. At twenty, she entered a beauty contest with all the ladies standing behind a curtain, showing only their legs. She won; the prize, silk stockings. In 1923, silk stockings were a rare luxury every woman appreciated.

Dec 16, 1922 or 23: Letter from Charles Henry Chatfield to his brother-in-law, Fred Adams:
My Dear Fred,
Your letter received several days ago, and was all glad to hear from you, and sorry to hear you had such bad luck and I hope you do come to California, as I know you will never want to go back to Montana. We are now having our rainy weather and the orange season is just over.
Leo was box maker for a fruit packing company and they just got through here and left for Imperial Valley, (south of Los Angeles) and Gordon went with him in the auto. The boys all have their own cars and working steadily and at home except Leo & Gordon. Howard lives here in Chico and oldest little girl took the baby prize for the best looking baby in Chico. The prize was a diamond ring.
Verda is going to school at the convent at Marysville, and Nellie May starts the 1st of Jan to “Healds Business College” takes stenography and bookkeeping. She has worked almost 5 years for the Diamond Match Co. and is well liked by the Co.
Mrs. C. has worked there for nearly a year. They make $16.00 per week. I have been with them a little over 18 months. I am in the finished lumber department.
There are over 200 women and girls working in the Match factory, and they employ about 250 more in the box factory, window, door & sash and lumber departments.
We have a 8 roomed house and 4 lots and I tried the chicken business again, have about 100 Leghorns and Rhode Island Red’s, and we have all kinds of fruit in fact too much, but we seem to get away with it.
Charley went up after some Holly berries today and if he gets some I will send you some for Christmas.
We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. With lots of Love to Jacqueline and the girls and hope to see you all soon.
Your brother
Chas.
Write Soon
Note: Forsythe, Montana flooded during a bad rainy season and a good part of Fred & Jacquelin Adam’s house was underwater. This is the only known letter we have from Charles Henry Chatfield.

Apr 17, 1926: Marriage of Nellie Mary “Nella May” Chatfield & Edward Waldon “Ed” McElhiney, Chico, Butte Co., California

Apr 24, 1926: Chico Newspaper, Chico, Butte Co., California:
SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 1926
Chico Girl is Bride of Truckee Man
CHICO—(Butte Co.) April 24,— Miss Nellie Chatfield. A member of a well known family in Chico, a graduate of the local schools and of the business college, was married on Sunday to Edward McElhiney of Truckee, where the couple will make their home.

The ceremony was performed by Rev. J.B. Dermod, of St. John’s Catholic Church, in the presence of the relatives of the bride, including her parents, Mr. and Mrs. C.H. Chatfield, her sister, Miss Verda Chatfield, and her brother, Gordon Chatfield.

The groom formerly lived in Miller, Neb., and is now employed by the Southern Pacific Company at Truckee.

Dec 2, 1926: Birth of Roy Joseph “Buster/Mac” McElhiney, son of Nella May Chatfield & Edward McElhiney in Chico, Butte Co., California; in the home of Nella May’s mother, Nellie Chatfield.

Headstones, Hearsay, and a Little History:
In April 1926, Nella May married Edward McElhiney, the first marriage in the family since Howard married Evelyn eight years prior. McElhiney wasn’t Catholic, so no mass was said at their wedding ceremony, a fact her mother never let her daughter forget. Nella May was also pregnant, getting a head start on collecting black marks in her mother’s book. 

Ed worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad in Truckee and from April through November he and his new wife lived in a side railed boxcar. As it was too cold to cook outside, Nella May tried to prepare a chicken dinner in their makeshift living quarters. Smoking them out, her husband laughed at her. The romance of living in a boxcar in the middle of winter is one thing to endure—but being laughed at is another. Eight months pregnant, Nella May— though on the quiet side and tiny—was not a woman to be laughed at. She left her husband and moved back home to her mother’s house where she gave birth to her firstborn, naming him after her brother Roy and St. Joseph: Roy Joseph McElhiney. They called him Buster.

Shortly after, word came to Chico that McElhiney was killed in a train coupling accident.

In 1930, Nella May moved to the Bay Area, borrowing money from her brother Roy and giving him her wedding ring, a round-cut, single-carat diamond between two inlaid rubies, outlined by a ring of deep-blue sapphires and smaller diamonds, as collateral. Moving to Oakland, she married a second time to Louis Lee Mote, a man eight years her junior and a diamond driller. It wasn’t until she was married to Mote that word came to her about McElhiney. Turns out he hadn’t been killed in a train accident. It was a case of mistaken identity; her first husband was still alive. Oops.

She left Mote soon after. It was just as well; he was a drinker who slapped Nellie around. When Buster got between them to protect his mother, who was now pregnant with her second child, he ended up on the other side of the room after a swing from Mote. It was time to pack up and leave. Mote ended up in the Philippines. He had an eye put out by a broken beer bottle in a drunken brawl, then went blind in the other eye. He spent the rest of his life somewhere up in Texas, or maybe it was Utah (his son couldn’t remember), in a home for the blind.

At age eight or nine, Buster was sick with a lung infection. He went to Del Valle Arroyo, a tuberculosis hospital near Vallejo. He was there a year, quarantined the whole time, so he wouldn’t catch TB. And the whole time he was there, not one person came to visit. He was too far away, his mother had little money and she didn’t drive. Few people had cars in the mid-30s; they walked everywhere: to church, to school, to shops. Alone, he spent his time reading volume after volume of The Wizard of Oz series. After Buster recovered, Uncle Charlie and Aunt Velma drove Nella May to pick him up. His mother was still living in Oakland and had just had her third child and second daughter, with no father in sight.

Buster was a handful, and Nella May didn’t know what to do with a young boy. Left to fend for himself, he’d be gone for two or three days, off exploring, doing whatever he wanted, sleeping wherever he could. His mother didn’t ask him where he’d been. It was even harder now for her to raise her son, so Charlie and Velma took him into their home in Lodi for about a year and a half. He was happy there. But one summer day, when he was working in their fruit stand, he bucked their authority he told them, “You can’t tell me what to do—you’re not my parents.” Her younger sister Ina took him for a while, and then he went back to his mother.

Then a fourth child came along: at eight and a half pounds, it was a huge baby for someone as tiny as Nella May, and the birth didn’t go well; they should have taken her by cesarean. Nella May tore badly and was in a convalescent hospital with her new daughter for three months. Her three other children stayed in a foster home until she could get back on her feet.

Nella May was living on Chestnut Street in Oakland, 35 years old with a son and three young girls. She kept her first husband’s last name and gave it to her four children. Who the two youngest girls’ fathers were, Nella wouldn’t say; their mother kept those affairs private. Maybe McElhiney came back into her life. A man turned up on her doorstep once, wanting to see her, but she refused, saying he’d caused her enough trouble. She never talked about the bad side of life, including her own. Once, and only once, her daughter asked her about her past. Nella May’s response was, “What, are you trying to give me a migraine?”

Twenty years later, Nella May paid Roy the money she’d borrowed and had gone home to collect her wedding ring. Her brother had given it to Grandma for safekeeping. The ring did not get brought up until it was time to go, and as Nella May and her daughters were ready to leave, she asked that it be returned. Grandma knew the ring was the reason she’d come and had it hidden in a pocket of her bloomers. She left the room to remove it in privacy, walked back into the front parlor, and sternly plunked the ring in her eldest daughter’s outstretched hand, snapping, “This ring has caused more trouble in this family than it’s worth.”

Nella May was Nellie’s fifth child, but her first girl, and throughout her childhood, she protected and coddled her tow-headed wisp. Nella May and Roy were Nellie’s favorites of all of her children, and she spoiled them both, terribly. And though Grandma may have been partial to Nella May as a child, she certainly hadn’t any partiality for her since that fancy diamond, ruby, and sapphire ring appeared on the scene.

April 21, 1929: Postcard (Ponoma, California) from Nella May to her mother, Mrs. N.C (Nellie) Chatfield:

1930: Federal Census for Oakland, Alameda Co., California:
Name: Lee Mote (father of Louis Lee Mote)
Birth Year: abt 1887
Gender: Male
Race: White
Birthplace: Oregon
Marital status: Married
Relation to Head of House: Head
Home in 1930: Oakland, Alameda, California, USA
Street address: 3504 Telegraph
Able to Read and Write: Yes
Father’s Birthplace: Oregon
Mother’s Birthplace: United States
Able to Speak English: Yes
Household Members:
Name Age
Lee Mote 43 (father)
Helen Mote 44 (mother)
Louie Mote 18 (Louis Lee Mote)
Vera Mote 17 (sister)
Jack Mote 14 (brother)

Abt 1931: Marriage of Nellie Mary “Nella May” Chatfield (abt age 28) & Louis Lee “Louie” Mote (abt age 20)

Dec 25, 1931: Birth of Mary Ellen Mote (took the name of McElhiney), the only child of Nella May Chatfield & Louis Lee Mote, in the Highland Hospital in Oakland, Alameda Co., California

1933: City Directory for Oakland, Alameda Co. California:
Name: Louie L Mote
Residence Year: 1933
Street address: 816 20th
Residence Place: Oakland, California, USA
Occupation: Diamond Driller
Publication Title: Oakland, California, City Directory, 1933

Sep 15, 1936: Divorce of Nella May Chatfield & Edward Walden McElhiney (once she found out he was still alive), in Oakland, Alameda Co., California; on grounds of cruelty

Nov 3, 1936: California Voter Registrations, Oakland Precinct No. 51, Alameda Co., California:
McElhiney, Mrs. Nellie M, 533A 34th st, Housewife Dem

Nov 8, 1938: California Voter Registrations, Oakland Precinct No. 582, Alameda Co., California:
McElhiney, Mrs. Nellie M, 533A 34th st, Housewife Dem

Apr 3, 1940: Federal Census for Sparks City, Washo Co., Nevada:
Name: Edward McElhiney (father of Edward Welden McElhiney)
Age: 34
Estimated birth year: abt 1906
Gender: Male
Race: White
Birthplace: Nebraska
Marital status: Married
Relation to Head of House: Head
Home in 1940: Sparks, Washoe, Nevada
Street: 15
House Number: 1000
Farm: No
Inferred Residence in 1935: Sparks, Washoe, Nevada
Residence in 1935: Same Place
Resident on farm in 1935: No
Number of Household in Order of Visitation: 172
Occupation: Brakeman
House Owned or Rented: Rented
Value of Home or Monthly Rental if Rented: 27.50
Attended School or College: No
Highest Grade Completed: High School, 4th year
Hours Worked Week Prior to Census: 48
Class of Worker: Wage or salary worker in private work
Weeks Worked in 1939: 40
Income: 2000
Household Members, Name Age:
Edward McElhiney: head, age 34
Iola McElhiney: wife, age 32
Louise Van Lassel: mother-in-law, age 71
Jessie Thomas: sister-in-law, age 42
Thomas: nephew, age 9

Oct 16, 1940: WWII Draft Registration Card for Edward McElhiney:
Name: Edward Walden McElhiney
Gender: Male
Race: White
Age: 34
Relationship to Draftee: Self (Head)
Birth Date: 30 Nov 1905
Birth Place: Loomis Felps City, Nebraska, USA
Residence Place: Sparks, Washoe, Nevada, USA
Registration Date: 16 Oct 1940
Registration Place: Sparks, Washoe, Nevada, USA
Employer: Southern Pacific Company
Weight: 160
Complexion: Light
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Black
Height: 5 10
Next of Kin: Iola May McElhinney

Oct 16, 1940: WWII Draft Registration Card for Louis Mote:
Name: Louis Lee Mote
Gender: Male
Race: White
Age: 29
Relationship to Draftee: Self (Head)
Birth Date: 5 Sep 1911
Birth Place: Buhl, Idaho, USA
Residence Place: San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
Registration Date: 16 Oct 1940
Registration Place: San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
Employer: Daniel G Longtin
Weight: 132
Complexion: Ruddy
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Brown
Height: 5 6

Nov 5, 1940: California Voter Registrations, Oakland Precinct 726, Alameda Co., California:
McElhiney, Mrs. Nellis, 702 27th st, housewife Dem (Nellie/Nella May)

Jul 23, 1942: Death of Charles Henry Chatfield (age 71), father of Nella May, at the Butte County Hospital in Oroville, Butte Co., California; of cardiac failure and malnutrition.

July 24, 1942: Chico Enterprise, Chico, Butte Co., California:
C.H. Chatfield Taken by Death
Charles H. Chatfield, widely known Chico resident for the past 25 years, and retired rancher, died at a local hospital yesterday following a short illness.
Chatfield was born in Florence, Colorado, September 21, 1870 and has been a resident of this community for 25 years. The family residence was at 666 East 16th street. He followed his occupation as a rancher until his retirement a few years ago.
He leaves to mourn him, his wife Nellie Chatfield of Chico and the following children, Charles J. of San Francisco, Leo W. of Camptonville, Howard F. and Roy E. of Chico, Gordon of Martinez, Arden with the U.S. Army, Mrs. Nellie McElhiney of Oakland, Mrs. Verda Day of Vallejo, Mrs. Noreen Clemens of Vallejo, and Mrs. Irma Fouch of Yuba City. Twelve grandchildren also survive.
One brother, Elmer Chatfield of Wyoming, and two sisters, Mrs. Ella Small of Superior, Arizona, and Mrs. Calla Joslyn of Santa Monica, California.
Friends are invited to attend the funeral services Saturday morning at 9:30 o’clock at the Black and Johnson Funeral home. Rev. Father Patrick J. Cronin of St. John the Baptist Catholic church will read the last rites and the interment will be held in Chico cemetery.

Nov 3, 1942: California Voter Registrations, Oakland Precinct 726, Alameda Co., California:
McElhiney, Mrs. Nellie M, 702 27th st, homemaker Dem

1942: Reno City Directory, Sparks and Nevada City, Washoe Co., Nevada:
McElhiney Edward W (Iola M) conductor 711 6th, Brakeman

Nov 7, 1944: California Voter Registrations, Oakland Precinct 726, Alameda Co., California:
McElhiney, Mrs. Nellie M, 720 27th st, electrician Dem

1944: Reno City Directory, Reno, Washoe Co., Nevada:
McElhiney Edw W (Iola M)cond SPCo r630 Pyramid way

1946: Reno City Directory, Reno, Washoe Co., Nevada:
McElhiney Edw W cond SPCo r630 Pyramid way, conductor

Nov 19, 1948: Death of Gordon Gregory Chatfield (age 42), younger brother of Nella May and the 6th child of Charles Chatfield and Nellie Chamberlin.

Nov 1948: Family photo taken at a family gathering for the funeral of Nella May’s brother, Gordon Gregory Chatfield

Except for her other brothers Howard and Arden (they’re not in the pictures anyway), the whole family was there for Gordon’s funeral. The photo, taken at Charley and Velma’s house in South San Francisco, memorializes the occasion.

Feb 10, 1955: Death of Louis Lee Mote (age 43), 2nd husband of Nella May Chatfield, in Wallace (according to his death certificate and a newspaper article) or Silverton (according to Idaho death record), Shoshone Co., Idaho; hemorrhage, severe cirrhosis of the liver. Louis is buried in United Cemetery (now Nine Mile Cemetery) in Wallace, Shoshone Co., Idaho.

Feb 11, 1955: The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Spokane Co., Washington (pg 9):

Feb 11, 1955: The Spokane Chronicle, Spokane, Spokane Co., Washington (pg 15):

1955: Idaho Death Record:
Name: Louis Mote
Birth Date: 5 Sep 1911
Birth Place: Idaho
Death Date: 10 Feb 1955
Death Place: Silverton, Shoshone, Idaho, USA (note: death certificate reflects Wallace, not Silverton)

Dec 14, 1955: Letter From Nellie Chatfield to her oldest daughter, Nella May (Chatfield) McElhiney:
Dear Nellie May May, Dec. 14, 1955
For goodness sake don’t worry about me. Roy gets worried & excited so easy & there is no need notifying any others. I don’t know what really was the matter with me this last time. I was not in much pain, only just couldn’t seem to get my breath. I don’t suppose you ever heard a wind broken horse, well that is exactly the way I sounded. You could hear me all over the house.
The Dr. heard me before he reached the house. He gave me a BIG shot in each arm. Roy held my arms & said I never flinched, but it sent me out of my head. Those hypos never did that before, but if I said the things Roy said I did, I was out of my head. Those shots must have did the work because I was breathing alright by the time I reached the hospital. I was in no pain, but was still coughing & when I did cough you should have seen those nurses move off.
They took all kinds of X Ray pictures & blood tests & for 36 hours they fed me thru the veins. Then when they wanted to put tubes in my nose & down my throat, that made me mad. Both doctors were new to me & I didn’t like them & they didn’t like me. I told them if they put any down my throat I would throw up all over everything. (One of the Drs. is a Sheeny & one is a Wop). The Wop said, “your stomach is about 4 times as big as it should be.” I said all right, cut it open & take a chunk out. I suppose they thought I would say they could put those tubes down my throat & in my nose. Roy telephoned to find out if he could take me home.

Well this is the 16th so I just as well quit. Roy turns the TV on so loud I can’t write. I am feeling the best I have in a long time. They have given me so many shots. I think that may have helped my head aches, but I have a terrible roaring in it all the time it seems others can hear it.
When we first came to California, Feb was the finest month of the year. I can get in & out of the car with a little help but I can’t get up & down steps & that is why I can’t go to church. If the weather ever gets really good & all can get together on the time, we may get over to see you. We often talk of it.
Now remember no presents this year. There is nothing I want or need & I think most of us are in no physical or financial position to do so. And now good night with love.
God bless you & yours,
Your loving Mother, N.C.
Note: Two weeks later Nellie died in her home. The last rites were administered to her three times and she was highly vexed that she didn’t die the first two times, having gone to all that work preparing to die.

Jan 2, 1956: Death of Nellie Belle (Chamberlin) Chatfield (age 82), mother of Nella May, at home on Boucher in Chico, Butte Co., California. Nellie is buried in the Catholic Section of the Chico Cemetery, nowhere near her husband.

Jan 3, 1956: Chico Enterprise, Chico, Butte Co., California:
Nellie Chatfield
Recitation of the rosary will be held in the Brusie Funeral Home this evening at 8 o’clock for Mrs. Nellie Chatfield, who died at her home on Boucher Street Monday.
Mrs. Chatfield was born on Mar 7, 1873 in Kansas City, Mo., to Frank and Emma Chamberlin. She resided in Chico in the same house the entire time.
Mrs. Chatfield was a charter member of the Catholic Ladies relief society.
She is survived by eight children: Charles J. of, South San Francisco; Leo W., of Camptonville; Mrs. Nellie McElhiney, of Oakland; Arden, of Yountville; Mrs. Ina Fouch, of Yuba City; Mrs. Ray Hayknee, of San Jose; and Roy E. and Mrs. Verda Day, both of Chico; a brother, Willard Chamberlin of Corvallis, Ore., two sisters, Mrs. Ada Whitaker and Mrs. Mamie Rosborough, both of Baker, Ore. 21 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. Mrs. Chatfield lost a son, Gordon in World War II and another son, Howard, three months ago.
At 9:50 a.m. Wednesday the cortege will proceed to St. John the Baptist Catholic Church where requiem mass will be offered for the repose of the soul.
Those who desire may have masses said in lieu of flowers.

Mar 18, 1965: Letter from Nella May (who is working as a cook and housekeeper for priests) to her sister Verda (Chatfield) Day:

May 26, 1972: Death of Edward Waldon “Ed” McElhiney (age 66), 2nd husband of Nella May Chatfield, in Reno, Washoe Co., Nevada

May 27, 1972: Reno Evening Gazette, Reno, Washoe Co., Nevada (pg 3):
Area deaths
Ed McElhiney
Edward W. McElhiney, of 19875 Heater Lane, died in Reno Friday. He was 66. He was born in Loomis, Neb., on November 30, 1905, and had lived in Reno 40 years. He was employed by the Southern Pacific Railroad and was a member of the U.T.U., Southern Pacific No. 1043. He is survived by his widow, Iola; a son, Roy, of Hayward, Calif.; and mother, Mrs. Don Alvord, of Ceresco, Neb.

Funeral Services will be held at the Pyramid Funeral Home Monday at 2 p.m. Rev. Richard Engeseth, chaplain of Washoe Medical Center will officiate. Cremation will follow in the Mountain View Crematory.

1972: U.S. Railroad Retirement Pension Index:
Name: E McElhiney
Birth Date: Nov 1905
Death Date: 1972
Industry: Railroad

Jul 25, 1982: Death of Mary Ellen (Mote) Accardi (50), the only child of Nella May Chatfield & Louis Lee Mote, in Walnut Creek, Contra Costa Co., California; cirrhosis of the liver. Mary Ellen is buried in Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Lafayette, Contra Costa Co., California.

Nov 21, 1983: Death of Nellie Mary “Nella May” Chatfield (age 80), 5th of 10 children of Charles Henry Chatfield & Nellie Belle Chamberlin, in Martinez, Contra Costa Co., California; of a stroke. Nella May McElhiney shares a headstone with her eldest daughter, Mary Ellen (Mote) Accardi in Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Lafayette, Contra Costa Co., California.

Note: Headstones, Hearsay, and a Little History, stories by Catherine Sevenau

2020. Catherine (Clemens) Sevenau.