This is a photo of my Esther May Riley at age 12.
My
grandmother, Esther May Riley Gilmore, born in 1911, was adopted as a child. The story goes- there
was a man in a German Settlement who fell ill and the doctor who came to care
for him got both of his daughters pregnant. The man committed suicide. One
daughter gave birth to a boy. The other daughter, Minnie Schultz, gave birth to
a girl- my grandmother Esther.
When
Esther was about 2 years old (1913) her
grandmother took her to the candy store and Emma (Oglan) Riley saw her. Emma
went home and told her husband Ed,
" I just saw the cutest little girl at the candy store, can I have
her?" Or words to that effect.
Apparently the candy store was the drop off point for the orphanage
wagon that came around periodically.
Ed
and Emma Riley never had any children of their own. Ed would have 52 and Emma
55 when they adopted my grandmother. I am not even sure that it was a legal
adoption. I haven't been able to find any documentation on the adoption.
Ed worked as a night watchman in a glove factory. Emma Catherine (Oglan) Riley cared for Esther May at home. Esther May had two dresses a year made by a dress maker. They were top quality and she learned to care for "what she had".
