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Happy Year of the Dragon. Here is my Dragon Girl Bird sculpture from 2018.

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Saturday, July 30, 2016

A short life

Happy birthday Grandpa, July 30,  1891.  Or possibly 1892...according to his draft card in 1917.  But his death certificate also has a difference, with July 20, 1891 listing his birthday.  That was filled in by his older brother.  I don't know how the draft card got the year of his birth different.  Such is the fun of ancestry! The 1910 census concurs that he was born in 1891. The town was Weesatche, TX, and named after the tree, with spelling different, but pronounced the same, Huisache.  It's located near Goliad, TX.

Albert (Bud) Webb, the grandpa I never knew. He bounced my mom on his knee and then was gone when she was just 2 years old.

So it's a bit hard to think of him as my grandpa, since he died so young. He had his 28th birthday, then was killed by accidental electrocution in his home in September of that year.

Albert (Bud) Joe Webb 1891-1919

From my mother's album, where she had just these pictures of her "Daddy Webb."

That draft card described him (in June of 1917) as tall, medium build, blue eyes, slightly bald.  He worked in real estate and had a restaurant, in San Antonio, TX.  That's where he is buried, in Mission Cemetery.  His marker says "He Is Not Dead, He Is Just Away."

Albert Bud James Webb 2

It must have been very difficult for his survivors, not only my mother and grandmother, but Bud's other family with parents and brothers and sisters.  My mother never mentioned any contact with them, or the many Webb cousins.  Her mother remarried in 1921, but Fred Munhall died within 6 years. So my mother was raised mainly by her mother and her mother's parents.  I'm named after my maternal great-grandmother, who I never met either.

I'm sharing this post with Sepia Saturday this week.  It has little to do with the meme, but is from the past, so does connect with the "sepia-ness" of the site.


15 comments:

  1. Gone at 28! Far too young; what a pleasant smile he had...

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  2. Very sad to be taken so young. Lovely photos

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    1. I know my mother loved her step-father and had a few pictures of him as well. But she probably didn't remember Bud at all.

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  3. Indeed a sad history. The birth date confusion was pretty common in earlier times when home births were normal and sometimes there was a delay in recording a sickly infant's birth.

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    1. I think I used to blame the people doing the recording of dates, but I'm moving more to thinking the various people being interviewed must have not replied very clearly all the time.

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  4. Sad indeed, but luckily he had a child,ie. your mother, otherwise you would be a different person. Being electrocuted must have been horrible, but I'm glad you didn't have to to tell us he died down a cave.

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    1. Yes, in a cave would definitely be a fearful thing...and it's a strange thought to consider who I would be if my mother hadn't been born! I can come up with some very funny thoughts!

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  5. Gone at 28 - Dang! That's way too young.

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    1. I know, it's hard to believe. I have a few friends and relatives that young, but now I'm mainly surrounded by people over 60.

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  6. You know, this is how great the net can be. You've given life to someone you never knew, but who impacted your life. And now the small story and photo are here for others to read. I'm sure your grandpa would be very proud.

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  7. So sad for your mother but two charming portraits to remember him by.

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  8. Wow, so sad to have lived such a short life. I was watching a program about the early years of electricity and it was very dangerous to have in private homes. It was not unusual to be electrocuted during those times.

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Thanks for your comments...