Nella Chatfield & McElhiney/Mote

Nella May

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.

Apr 1926: U.S.Newspaper Index:
Name: Edward McElhiney
Gender: Male
Residence Place: Truckee,
Residence Place 2: Miller, Neb.,
Employer: Southern Pacific Company
Marriage License Place: Chico
Marriage Date: 25 Apr 1926
Father: C Chatfield
Mother: Chatfield
Spouse: Nellie Chatfield (Nellie Mary “Nella May” Chatfield)
Siblings: Verde Chatfield (Verda), Gordon Chatfield

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

Dec 2, 1926: California Birth Index:
Name: Roy Joseph Mcelhiney (McElhiney)
Birth Date: 2 Dec 1926
Gender: Male
Mother’s Maiden Name: Chatfield
Birth County: Butte

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.

Nella May & 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.

Buster

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 that 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

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.

McElhiney girls

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?”

Roy Chatfield, 1952

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.

Nella May & her brother Roy (1927 Studebaker Commander)

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

1930: U.S. Federal Census, 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
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: age 43 (father)
Helen Mote: age 44 (mother)
Louie Mote: age 18 (Louis Lee Mote)
Vera Mote: age 17 (sister)
Jack Mote: age 14 (brother)

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

Nella May

Dec 25, 1931: Birth of Mary Ellen Mote (took the name of McElhiney), the 1st of 2 children of Nella May Chatfield & Louis Lee Mote, at 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

Oct 18, 1934: Birth of Beverly Joan McElhiney (though the birth child of Lee Louis Mote), the 2nd of 2 children of Nella May Chatfield & Louis Lee Mote, Alameda Co., California

Oct 18, 1934: California Birth Index:
Beverly Joan Mcelhiney (McElhiney)
Birth Date: 18 Oct 1934
Gender Female
Mother’s Maiden Name: Chatfield
Birth County: Alameda

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

Oct 27, 1938: Birth of Barbara Ann McElhiney, 4th child of Nella May Chatfield with father unknown, but listed as McElhiney on her birth certificate

Oct 27, 1938: California Birth Index:
Name: Barbara Ann Mcelhiney (McElhiney)
Mother: Chatfield
Birth: 27 Oct 1938
Place: Alameda, California

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.

Charles Chatfield

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.

Chatfield siblings: Noreen, Ina, grandma Nellie, Verda, Nella May, kneeling: Charley, Howard, Roy, Leo, July 25, 1942, at father’s funeral

Ina, Verda, Grandma Nellie, Noreen/Babe, Nella May, Jul 25, 1942, Chico

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

Family funeral, Nov 1948: Grandma Nellie at top, Verda, Leo, Charley, Aunt Ada (Chamberlin) Whitaker, Noreen/Babe, Nella May (in dark coat), Ina, Joanne, Jim, Velma keeling in front

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.

sisters Ina & Nella May, No 1948

Apr 18, 1950: U.S. Federal Census, Oakland, Alameda Co., California:
Name: Nellie M McElhiney
Age: 47
Birth Date: abt 1903
Gender: Female
Race: Mulatto
Birth Place: Colorado
Marital Status: Widowed
Relation to Head of House: Head
Residence Date: 1950
Home in 1950; Oakland, Alameda, California
Street Name: 27 Street
House Number: 720
Occupation: Sales Clerk
Industry: Sears Roebuck Co
Occupation Category: Working
Hours Worked: 10
Worker Class: Private
Household Members (Name) Age Relationship:
Nellie M McElhiney age 47, head, white, widowed, born Colorado
Beverly J McElhiney age 15, daughter, white, born California
Barbara A McElhiney age 11, daughter, white, born California

Circa 1955: McElhiney siblings: Beverly Jean, Mary Ellen, Roy Joseph “Buster”, Barbara Ann

Feb 10, 1955: Death of Louis Lee Mote (age 43), 2nd husband of Nellie Mary “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)

Grandma Nellie Chatfield

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:

Verda Day, 1964

May 26, 1972: Death of Edward Waldon “Ed” McElhiney (age 66), 1st 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.

May 29, 1972: Burial of Edward Walden “Ed” McElhiney at Mountain View Cemetery, Reno, Washoe Co., Nevada; Urn Garden of Friendship 275

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/McElhiney) Accardi (age 50), the 1st of 2 children of Nella May Chatfield & Louis Lee Mote, in Walnut Creek, Contra Costa Co., California; cirrhosis of the liver.

Jul 25, 1982: California Death Index:
Name: Mariellen Accardi
[Mariellen McElhiney]
Mother: Chatfield
Father: McElhiney
Birth: 25 Dec 1931 California
Death: 25 Jul 1982 Contra Costa

Jul 1982: Burial of Mary Ellen (Mote/McElhiney) Accardi at Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Lafayette, Contra Costa Co., California

Nov 21, 1983: Death of Nellie Mary “Nella May” (Chatfield) McElhiney (age 80), 5th of 10 children of Charles Henry Chatfield & Nellie Belle Chamberlin, in Martinez, Contra Costa Co., California; of a stroke.

Nov 19823: Burial of Nellie Mary “Nella May” (Chatfield) McElhiney at Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Lafayette, Contra Costa Co., California; Nella May McElhiney shares a headstone with her eldest daughter, Mary Ellen (Mote) Accardi

Nov 3, 2004: Death of Roy Joseph “Buster/Mac” McElhiney (age 77), only child of Nella May Chatfield & Edward McElhiney; leukemia, pneumonia

Nov 3, 2004: Social Security Death Index:
Name: Roy J. McElhiney
Birth Date: 2 Dec 1926
Issue year: Before 1951
Issue State: California
Last Residence: 74014, Broken Arrow, Wagoner, Oklahoma, USA
Death Date: 3 Nov 2004

Nov 2004: Burial of Roy Joseph “Buster/Mac” McElhiney at Fort Gibson National Cemetery, Fort Gibson, Muskogee Co., Oklahoma

Feb 26, 2025: Death of Beverly Joan (Mote, given the name of McElhiney) Holbrook, the 2nd of 2 children of Nella May Chatfield & Louis Lee Mote, in Danville, Contra Costa Co., California

Note: It was always uncertain as to who Beverly’s father was, but a recent family DNA match reflects that she has Mote ancestry

May 22, 2025: Death of Barbara Ann (McElhiney) Clauson (age 86), 4th child of Nellie Mary “Nella May” (Chatfield) McElhiney, in Henderson, Clark Co., Nevada; lymphoma

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

202o: Researched and compiled by Catherine (Clemens) Sevenau
updated 2026

Note: The cemetery headstone photos from Find A Grave contained herein are the property of those who photographed them.