Kathy, Perhaps your relative took in washing & ironing as a means for cash (as my dear, Grandmother Patterson did). Just a thought; enjoyed this piece very much. Hope you find your answer. - Anne -----Original Message----- From: mamiddle-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:mamiddle-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Kathy Montgomery Sent: Sunday, October 04, 2009 12:56 PM To: mamiddle@rootsweb.com Subject: [MAMiddle] odd question . . . Hi all - I have done a fair bit of genealogy, and learned interesting stories and such about all sorts of ancestors and relatives. I have learned tons about my mom's family, and much less about my dad's. (And wouldn't you know it, my dad was curious about it all; my mom - "not so much.") However, my mom's sense of family mystery is less genealogy, and more financial. She is 80, and the only question she ever asks me about family history is in one area I see very little about. My mom's maternal grandparents (my maternal great grandparents)appear to have modest income partnered with very comfortable lifestyle. She has tried to think how they did that. It is the only family history mystery that keeps her in the conversation. Her grandparents lived in a rented Cambridge apartment, owned a house in Billerica, and a summer cabin at Point Judith RI. They had nice clothes, china, sterling cutlery, etc. They ate well during the depression. I found a newspaper article that said she bought shore front land in Scituate. But in contrast, he worked behing the meat counter in a small grocery shop; he did not own it. She did not work. My mom's question - where'd the money come from? Neither of them came from families where they would have inherited much. Her grandmother did not want her mother to marry - ever. So she eloped to NH at age 17. She would never accept money or anything of particular value from her parents, even while trying to raise 6 kids through the depression. Thus my mom sort of worries that maybe they did something bad; but there is no known evidence of that. If anything, they were pretty strict from the sound of it; much a part of the Victorian era. (As a 6 or 8 year old budding family historian, I made the mistake of asking my grandmother how old she was, and where she was born. trust me, I never did that again . . . I digress) My mom is the oldest of her generation still living; there is no one else to ask. so, my question - what clues are there to finances? Ideas I have had: 1) man from the above couple died in 1959 (before I was old enough to do something so naughty as to ask how old he was!). But there doesn't seem to have been a will; or not that my mom ever heard. 2) I don't have any experience in using land records. maybe that would help - any suggestions on land ownership in Cambridge and Billerica say 1900 - 1960 as a timeframe? any suggestions? oh, and I can't resist adding - I do remember this great grand dad; he is among my earliest memories. I was quite young, maybe just 4. We were visiting him at the Cambridge apartment. They had a huge dining room table with one of those crocheted tablecloths. On it was a small bowl with the most incredible looking apples I had ever seen; and I knew my apples let me tell you; my favorites for sure. So I asked him if I could eat one. He said no, they were wax. I said that was okay, I liked all kinds. He said no, you can't eat it, it is wax. Well wax was fine with me if that was apples . . . I couldn't understand, I had never met an adult that would not let me eat an apple. We had to be rescued from the conversation by the intervening generations! what a way to be remembered - all the things he did in his life - and the only thing I remember about him is that he would not let me have an apple! To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to MAMIDDLE-request@rootsweb.com with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject and the body of the email with no additional text. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to MAMIDDLE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message