The Robert Boardmans’ final resting places!

Boardman Family 1941

The above photograph is one of my favorites and it presents the Robert and Ethel Boardman Family in about 1941 in West Seattle. Left to Right:  Ruth, Uncle Boardie, Ethel, Robert, Aileen. In front: Marjorie, unknown doggy and Verne.  Ruth and Boardie are maybe just married.  Aileen and Verne married in 1938.

Grandfather Robert Boardman passed in 1945 and it wasn’t until 1965 that Ethel Adella Brown Boardman also succumbed.  They are buried in the Forest Lawn Cemetery in West Seattle next to eat other.  These photos are not very good.

Robert Boardman 1881 to 1945

Ethel Boardman 1881 to 1965

Verne C. Cahan and Hazel Aileen Cahan are buried in Forest Lawn as well and not to far from Robert and Ethel, Aileen’s mother.  For some reason my photos of their tombstones are missing but I do have a couple of things.  I just might have to go and redo.

Verne’s tombstone reads:  Verne C. Cahan, Washington, PVT BTRY D 146 Field Arty, WWI, Feb. 17, 1897 (Masonic sign) Aug 31, 1963.

This is a very bad photo of Aileen and Verne’s tombstone and only shows the location. Aileen was born May 23, 1907 and died Dec 30, 1988.

Aileen and Verne’s tombstones and me.

John Henry Boardman and his wife Laura Cuthbert Boardman, a brother of my grandfather, are right next to Robert & Ethel.

John’s headstone in Forest Lawn West Seattle

Laura E. Boardman’s headstone

Marjorie F. Boardman and Keith B. MacDonald are buried in the Acacia Memorial Park in Lake City a part of north Seattle, Washington.

Marjorie & Keith MacDonald – Acacia

All the above are in King County and are featured on Find A Grave except for the one below.

Robert Brown Boardman (Uncle Boardie) and his 2nd wife Blanche (Jerry) are buried in Abbey View Cemetery in Brier, Washington.  It is just up north of Seattle in Snohomish County a couple of miles from my location.  I do not know where Ruth is buried Boardie’s first wife.

Boardie & Jerry’s tombstones in Abbey View

As a descendant of this family, I do have more pictures, stories, experiences and documents about the family from about 1945 onwards but this is where I draw the line for publishing personal stuff.  There are living descendants of Marjorie and Uncle Boardie so if you are a cousin and would like to know more, I would be happy to share offline, just leave a comment and I will contact you.

My focus now is to go back in time to learn more about the origins of both of the Boardmans and Browns.  The Boardman and Mc/MacMurrays will take us back to Lancashire, England.  The Browns came from Ireland about 1830, they settled in Hastings and Lambton County, Ontario and some stayed but others headed to LaPeer County, Michigan and more. Still others migrated to Winnipeg and further west to British Columbia.  Emma Ward Brown, my great-grandmother came from Strathroy, Ontario and is of English descent I think?  I am hoping to see if I cannot connect her to her parents and take that line back to the British Isles.

Grandfather Robert Boardman passes!

Grandpa Robert Boardman 1944

It was 1945 and my grandfather passed on 27 Nov 1945.  He died in Steilacoom, Pierce Co., Washington where he had been residing at the hospital there. In those days people with conditions associated with aging would be placed in the state hospital for care.  Today, there are more options and we understand some of the conditions better.

As far as I can figure out, grandfather had no estate.  I have checked in both Pierce and King Counties at the Washington State Archives.  The only thing I have not done is look at deeds or court documents to see if he sold his business to his son.

A curious thing happened when I looked at the Seattle newspapers for grandfather’s obituary notice.  The newspapers in Seattle had gone on strike and the issues stopped.  They did try to catch up but I never did find an article in the Seattle papers.  So I went to a neighborhood newspaper the West Seattle Herald and found this piece.

Robert Boardman’s obituary 1945

Obituary for Grandfather in the West Seattle Herald, Thursday Nov. 29, 1945 front page middle area.

Robt Boardman Funeral Friday – Robert Boardman, 5013 50th Ave. SW, well know for 29 years in West Seattle, in the Boardman Plumbing Service, passed away at 6 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 27, following a heart attack. He had been ill for several weeks. Funeral services will be held at the St. John Episcopal Church, California and Hanford Streets, at 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30. Cremation will follow. Surviving are his wife, Ethel; a son, Robert; two daughters, Aileen and Marjorie; and a brother John H., all of Seattle.

Here is one of his many ads in the newspaper. It is the ad in the middle.

Grandfather’s plumbing business 1940

A city directory ad in 1922 at the bottom:

Grandfather’s death certificate for Washington State Reads:

This death certificate indicates that Grandfather died at the Western State Mental Hospital at Ft. Steilacoom, WA on November 27, 1945. He was living at 5013 50th Ave. SW prior to his admittance. He had been in the USA about 28 years. He was born on September 8, 1881 in Shediac, New Brunswick. His father was Edmund Boardman whose birthplace was England. His mother was Charlotte MacMurray, born in New Brunswick. The death certificate states he did not serve in the military. He was 64 years, 2 months and 19 days old when he died. His occupation was “plumber.” There is a correction record done by Aileen Boardman Cahan, his daughter, that states he was buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Seattle not at Washelli.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_State_Hospital_(Washington)

https://www.dshs.wa.gov/bha/division-state-hospitals/history-western-state-hospital

With the passing of my grandfather Robert, whom I never knew, we come to probably the end of the migration of the Boardman family.  I named this blog the Boardmans & Browns of Winnipeg A Canadian Story because they were the kind of people who built Canada creating the great nation it is today.  He was born in Shediac, New Brunswick and migrated with this family to Winnipeg where he met up with the Browns and married Ethel Adella Brown.  Both families worked for the Canadian Pacific Railroad. The Browns had come from Ontario migrating to Winnipeg.  Of course, from Winnipeg these families have dispersed to other parts of Canada and the United States.  My family left Winnipeg around 1908 and headed to Vancouver, British Columbia and from there to Seattle, Washington in 1917.  I don’t think grandfather ever did complete his naturalization process, perhaps his heart was still in Canada.

Boardie Get’s Married November 1941!

Uncle Boardie having fun!

The photo above is one of my favorites of my Uncle Boardie (mid 1950’s).  He grabbed one of our tricycles and zoomed around.  He was one of those persons who knew how to make a quarter appear from behind your ear.

More Tricycle Tricks

On a more serious side, he did marry.

With the marriage license obtained on the 6th of November, 1941 the ceremony took place on the 8th at the St. John’s Church in Seattle.

Robert B. Boardman of the county of King joined with Ruth Davidson in Lawful Wedlock. The witnesses were Vern C. Cahan and Helen Davidson.  E. C. Schimeirer was the clergman.

From this marriage they had one daughter who was born in 1943.  She is still living.

Uncle Boardie’s First Marriage

Boardie’s Marriage

From L to R – Verne Cahan, Robert Brown Boardman (Uncle Boardie), Ruth Davidson, Unknown lady and man in wheel chair.  I suspect that the one on the right of Ruth is her sister and the man is her father.

The marriage did not survive and they divorced in 1949.  It was not a happy split.  I was very young when the divorce took place and didn’t really know Ruth.

However on the 28th of April 1950, Boardie remarried to Blanche Alma Butler who was born 22 May 1914.  We knew her as “Jerry.”  My Uncle found his soul mate and remained with Jerry his whole life. They did not have any children. Boardie’s daughter would stay with them through the years.

Uncle Boardie continued in the business of plumbing.  He took on his father’s business, eventually he and Jerry moved up to the Silver Lake area near Everett and remained there.  We would go visiting them often.  I believe they had a monkey for a while.

Here Uncle Boardie is helping my father Keith remodel our house.  The goal here was to raise it up and build a basement.

Boardie helps with remodeling our house

Raising our house

Grandpa Robert Boardman checks in at the remodeling

In this last picture you see Uncle Boardie peering around the corner and then Keith, my dad, and Robert Boardman, my grandfather, Boardie’s father, who was a plumber himself.

The Boardman Sister’s Naturalize!

Both Aileen and Marjorie decided to become naturalized citizens of the United States about the same time. Remember Aileen was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Marjorie was born in Vancouver, British Columbia.  I have not found any naturalization papers for their brother Uncle Boardie (Robert Brown Boardman).

Marjorie applied for her Declaration of Intention on 6 March, 1939.  She did this under her maiden name.

Marjorie’s Declaration of Intention Photo

Address 5_____50th Ave., Seattle, King, Washington
Occupation: Student Nurse
Age 27
Sex Female
Color White
Complexion Fair
Color of eyes: Blue
Color of hair: Brown
height 5 feet 2 and 1/2 inches
weight 100 pounds
no visible marks
race English
nationality British
Born in Vancouver, B.C.
September 22, 1911
Is not married, has no children
Has not made a previous declaration
Last foreign residence – Vancouver, B.C.
Came from Vancouver, B.C.
To Seattle, WA
under the name of Marjorie F. Boardman
on February 13, 1917
SS Prince Victoria
#20——- Certification No.
Signed by Elmer Dover, Deputy Clerk
No. 154—- on the side to the left.

Between her Declaration of Intention and the Petition for Naturalization a letter came in 1941 about her naturalization process.  I have pages of her typed answers but only the carbon imprints show.

The letter from Immigration 1941

In December 22, 1941 she filed her Petition for Naturalization.  This time Marjorie completes her naturalization process but did it under her married name:

Marjorie’s Naturalization Picture 1941

No. 32…Petition for Naturalization, U.S. District, W. Dist. of Wash., Seattle, WA. Marjorie Fay MacDonald, 942 –Seattle, WA, occupation Nurse, age 30, born 9/22/1911 in Vancouver BC, Canada, female, white, fair, blue, brown, 5 ft 2.5 inches weight 100 lbs., British.  Married to K. B. MacDonald on July 4, 1941 in Idaho…..She came from Vancouver B.C., Canada to Seattle, WA under the name of Marjorie F. Boardman on February 13, 1917 on the SS Princess Victoria.  Signed by her.  Here witnesses were Patricia Smith and Beverly Gould (friends from nursing school), etc. 

Here is her Certificate of Arrival.  It has the same date on it that Aileen’s does.

Marjorie’s Certificate of Arrival 1917

We were out camping years later and wanted to cross the border to Canada.  I was told to be quiet and not tell the custom’s officer that she had been born in Canada.  I was puzzled so I asked why and she replied that it would be too complicated.  Apparently she didn’t have her papers with her. I was about 7 years old at the time.  Today, we would not be able to cross the border in this manner.  My parents were honest and law-abiding people so this was a very rare situation and surprised me.

Sister Aileen applied for her Petition of Naturalization on February 19, 1942.  There is no Declaration of Intention only her Petition for Naturalization which is interesting.  Usually it is a two-step process 1st the Declaration of Intention and then the Petition for Naturalization.

Petition for Naturalization, U.S. Dist., W. Dist. of Wash, Seattle, WA #32…., Hazel Aileen Cahan, 4728…..Seattle, King County, Stenographer, age 34, born May 23, 1907 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Female, white complexion, complexion medium, eyes blue, hair drk. brown, height 5 feet 2 inches and weighs 100 lbs. Race white, British.  Married to C. Verne C. Cahan Mar. 18, 1938 in Seattle, WA.  He was born in Tekoa, WA on Feb. 17, 1897, now reside in Seattle WA.  Last place of foreign residence was Vancouver, BC, Canada, left there and entered into Seattle, WA under the name of Aileen H. Boardman on Feb. 13, 1917 on the CPRR SS Princess Victoria.  I have resided continuously in the US of America for 3 year at least since Feb. 13, 1917. I have not heretofore made petition for naturalization….Signed Hazel Aileen Cahan.

Affidavit of Witnesses

Margaret Zuhlke, Stenographer, reside at _______Seattle, WA.  and Juanita Fredericks, Stenographer reside in ____________Seattle, WA.  I know Hazel Aileen Cahan since 9/9/1938. Signed by both persons on 10 Sept. 1941 etc. 

Here is Aileen’s Certificate of Arrival:

Aileen’s Certificate of Arrival