Family story about Esther May Riley Gilmore

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".

30.What stories have come down to you about your parents?

My dad was quite the handsome young man. He and some friends had a car together, a '34 Ford 2-door sedan that was painted fire engine red. They called it "The Mayflower" because every girl who got in the car "came across".  (Actually I think this story is one of  youthful bravado!)

My mom remembers seeing my dad in a restaurant in Colville when she was about 11 years old. He was this tall (6'3") 12 year old who was working hard. She didn't know him then, but she remembers him. Mama lived in Kettle Falls and Daddy lived in Colville.  

Jack Williams, 12 years old

 

 

Mom was talented and good at reciting poems.  She  had a teacher who took her to "recitation events".  Her teacher kept a kept a nice dress at her house for mama to wear since my mom's wardrobe was rather odd to say the least.  Mom's wardrobe was made by my grandmother- who favored red, blue and green and designed all her own clothes and mama's too.  

Emma Alice Gilmore- 10 years old

29. Is there a naming tradition in your family, such as always giving the firstborn son the name of his paternal grandfather?

Is there a naming tradition in our family? 

Co-incidence or tradition? 

28. What do you know about your family surname?

 Family legend gives that our Williams name came from Wales. My Great Great Grandfather  Nasmith Williams (b. 1794) and his brother Rees  purportedly came from Wales as the story goes that has been handed down in the family. However, according to census records, his children list him as coming from Pennsylvania.

According to Wikipedia, Williams is a patronymic form of the name William that originated in medieval England^[3] and later came to be extremely popular in Wales. The meaning is derived from son or descendant of Williame, the Northern French form that gave the English name William too. Derived from an Old French given name with Germanic elements; will = desire, will; and helm = helmet, protection.^[4] It is the second most common surname in Wales and the third most common surname in the whole of the United Kingdom,^[5] the third most common in the United States of America and Australia and the fifth most common in New Zealand.^[