Digging for newspaper accounts on James Lawrence Grace allowed me to actually find the little ads that Margaret had put in newspapers, searching for him. She did put ads in papers in Ireland and the US, and I spotted ones in an Oklahoma City newspaper (where their brother Thomas was living), as well as Pittsburgh. It seemed like Margaret really didn't know where James was. It does make me wonder if his other siblings knew where he was and Margaret wasn't kept in the loop, so to speak. After awhile, I really got the impression that after Richard Grace's death, his children went their separate ways and likely didn't really keep in touch with each other. I would have thought that if James was really in danger or something had happened, that his surviving older brothers (Thomas or John William) could have gone after him, though maybe not. Maybe they didn't care? That's one of the mysteries I can't solve, and that will always haunt me, because there's literally no way to find out.
It's also interesting to point out that even though Margaret came to Glasgow searching for James, and got a lead on him, she wasn't ultimately successful, in that she went home empty-handed, with no James. In fact, it wasn't until 1925 that he returned with her. And for the most part, that ended their stories. There were a few city directory entries showing them living together, then nothing, until I located their death certificates. Both died in hospitals, and neither body was claimed, but instead the bodies were disposed of through donation. A bit odd it seemed, but then again, that's how medical schools get their cadavers.
But thanks again to a lot of online resources from the Pennsylvania State Archives, I was able to actually find a digitized register of deceased individuals whose bodies were donated to medical schools ... and I was able to track down what happened exactly to the bodies of Margaret and James Grace. Both went to medical schools in the Philadelphia area, and both bodies were dissected over the span of two years, and then the remains were buried in a Philadelphia cemetery who had a specific area just for the remains of medical research subjects. Kind of creepy, but then again, dissecting cadavers gives medical students important lessons that help them become good surgeons and doctors. And finding the information allowed me to close the book, so to speak, on the two Grace siblings.
But it turns out that I wasn't yet done with James. I was researching the other Grace family in their town in Pennsylvania, trying to establish a definite family connection between them and my Grace ancestors. When I saw in Margaret Grace's hospital record that it mentioned that "her brother, Thomas Grace" had been an inmate at the hospital, I was a bit perplexed, because Thomas had a fairly defined trail out of Pennsylvania, and I could account for him up until the 1930s, so it seemed unlikely that he'd ever returned there. So I ordered the file, and it turned out to be the "other" Thomas Grace, from the other Grace family. His file was interesting, and it gave me hints that possibly the two families were related, but it also mentioned that other family members had been inmates there at the hospital, so I reached out to the archivist, and asked if there were any other files for a person named "Grace." She got back to me, and mentioned that there was a file for someone named "James Lawrence Grace."
Um, that was unexpected. So I immediately ordered the file, and waited for it to be scanned and emailed to me. And yes, it was great-great-Uncle James. It actually was two files, because he had been in the hospital for several weeks in the early 1930s, and then for a longer stint in the 1950s. And it was interesting, because in a way it was two different guys, because the younger one apparently had been avoiding alcohol for a period of time, and may have been in the hospital because it was thought he was dealing with a brain tumor, and he was blaming the possibility on a venereal disease he contracted in 1917 ... likely in France while serving with the British Army, which was my guess. He also had the effects of Malaria, which probably came from his service in Burma. The doctors there ultimately concluded he was likely suffering from anemia. The patient interview was interesting. He remembered his mother's name, and indicated she died 11 days after his birth, which doesn't quite match up with her death register, but then again, it's not like he was going to remember that. He knew the deaths of his siblings, though couldn't quite remember their ages of death correctly; he thought Michael was 60 when he died (my research suggests he was 41), Patrick, who was 35 (he was likely 30, though that's a guess on my part), Richard Jr. dying at age 15 (fairly close, it was 21 according to the dates on his birth and death registries), which James blamed on meningitis caused by a knitting needle being shoved up his nose! And he has John dying at 46, which was spot on, as I suspect they were the closest of the siblings. He did mention Thomas alive at 62, which was also close, as he was still alive and 60 at the time. No mention of Bridget, or even of Margaret, which is interesting, as he was likely living with her at the time. I wonder if they just didn't get along.
It does mention that he started working in the oil industry at 16, first by cutting wood to be used in the steam boilers on drilling rigs, and then operating a hydraulic jack to remove pipes on abandoned wells, and then by age 20 becoming a tool dresser, and working in oil fields up to the time he was in the hospital. He did say that he went to India (technically yes, since Burma was part of India at that time) at age 24 and worked for an oil company and apparently also a gold prospecting company! He then indicated he joined the British Amy in 1914, and then was discharged in 1919, serving in the Royal Engineers and remaining in England from 1919 to 1925, coming back to Pennsylvania.
So my research was right! Hot damn! He didn't mention getting sick and getting evacuated back to England, or working in England from 1915 until drafted in 1916, but everything else matched up. He says he had malaria in 1912 and was ill for several months, and then was sick in 1915 from something called "tropical sprue," and that may have been what sidelined him early in the war. He also admitted to getting VD in 1917, and being treated for it in England in 1920. He also claimed to have abstained from alcohol since 1920, which for a Grace male would be a pretty incredible feat (my family doesn't have a good history with booze).
He was kept for observation for a couple of weeks, and released. So that first file really supported the research, and as a complete bonus, it had a PHOTO of him from 1933! As far as I know, NO ONE else in the family had a photo of James. So that was a startling surprise. He did resemble my great-grandfather John, though in 1933, James was leaner and clearly older than the only portrait I have of John, and he also clearly had a lot of miles on his face. But he looked like a Grace. And now added to the passport photo of Margaret, I had three pictures from the Grace family, which was more than I think anyone knew existed.
The next file was from 1950, when James was 71. This time he was admitted because of "Psychosis due to Alcohol," and ordered by the court to be there for 90 days. There was no abstaining anymore, he was a SERIOUS drinker by this time. And his mind wasn't quite as sharp. He still remembered he was born in Ireland, and he remembered his father's name, but Ellen Dreelan from the 1933 report was now "Kitty Dreeland." The 1950 report did point out that Margaret was a patient there and had been there for 3 years. So it's interesting that her file doesn't ever mention that James visited her during her stay ... but yet he was actually in the hospital at the same time? It was a huge complex from old photos that I've seen, so perhaps neither knew the other was in the hospital ... or cared.
His memory appears to be somewhat sharp, somewhat vague. He again reported that his mother died two weeks after he was born, and also mentions his father remarrying, and the family immigrating and going straight to Pennslyvania. He also mentions going to India and drilling oil wells in "Upper Burma," starting in 1906. He then mentions he couldn't get out of India due to the war, and so he worked for the British until 1916 when he was sent to France to join the British artillery, though he then said when he was with the British, he was made a captain (in 1933 he said "Private") and put in charge of water well drilling to supply water to the troops. So at least that part of the story appears to check out (well drilling, not being a captain). He claimed he came back to Pennsylvania in 1919. He also claimed he worked at the hospital in the late 1930s, though the interviewer noted that hospital records show he did work at the hospital briefly in 1943, and was discharged from being drunk on the job! The file also recounts some of the evidence of his prodigious drinking, with drunken sprees lasting from a week to six months in length, and his later escapades, where he'd buy 2 to 3 gallons of wine and drink it until it was gone, and once that was gone, drinking anything that had alcohol, whether it be bay rum, hair tonic, or "canned heat," whatever that is! But apparently he was a relatively pleasant drunk, and caused no problems, and was even very courteous even when highly intoxicated.
The interesting part is when James recounts his family background, because it's difficult to determine what could be factual, and what is utter fantasy, though some things are really clearly wrong. He claims his grandparents were named Thomas and Ellen Grace. Not sure where that came from, as it appears from the research that Richard's father was named Michael. He does remember Richard's name, and said he died at 56, which was actually fairly likely, as Richard's birth date is a bit questionable, either 1840 or 1846 ... so he was either 57 or 63 when he died. James actually listed what he said were some of Richard's siblings ... Julia and James. Maybe? If I could actually find more information on Richard, I could try to confirm that, but it's nearly impossible to do so at this point. In this part of the file, he does remember that his mother's name was Ellen Dreelan ... BUT he indicates that she died in her 70s, "near Detroit in 1928 or '29." Umm, no. Definitely not. But that does make me wonder if perhaps he means Bridget? Though he does mention her later when he's asked about his siblings; he mentions Margaret (and has her age right), he mentions John dying at 46 of a heart attack, again interesting that he knows that one well. He mentions that Thomas was dead at age 70, though in this 1950 interview Thomas was still alive, and would be for another 3 years, when he did die at age 80. This time he says Patrick died at 55, Michael died at 74, and Richard Jr. died at 32, though he reports again the knitting needle up the nose ... so maybe that actually was true?!? He also mentioned Bridget died at 65, which could be true, I could never find her after the early 1900s because her name was so common.
He does then detail his various whereabouts in the 1920s and beyond, apparently moving around a bit doing some oil field work, doing some woodcutting, taking care of cattle on a farm. He told of being a tool dresser in the West Virginia oil fields for six years, and then in Burma for 9 years as a driller. He went on further to say that after the war broke out the British engaged him to help work on fortifications on an island off Bombay, which is actually plausible ... as there are multiple islands off Bombay, and many of them held fortifications. He also said he was sent to the Persian Gulf to help put oil wells in order that the "Germans and Arabs had destroyed," which again is actually plausible, because the British did send a force from India into the Persian Gulf and landed to take over Ottoman Empire holdings, including oil fields. He then said he was sent in 1916 to France where he joined the artillery, but they found out he was a driller, so they had him drill water wells, and he did it until the end of the war.
He did say he was a captain in the British Army, which is so NOT plausible. He also claimed that when he was on leave in Paris, he met an American general and talked to him, and the General said he should join the American forces, but that he was too valuable to the British, who refused to let him go. That actually could be a bit believable. Though he then goes on to report that he returned to Pennsylvania in 1919, and detailed some places he lived and worked in the early 1920s ... but of course, there's a paper trail to show that he was still in England and didn't come back until 1925. But there is the possibility that these could have been places he lived after he came back to Pennsylvania, because the details he offered were quite detailed.
He also admitted to never having married, and claimed that he was busy in India during his marrying years ... but then also admitting that in Burma he had a native mistress, an Indian girl who was the daughter of his cook, and that it was a common custom for the American men to have a native girl share their bed. He also claimed that he got VD in India, but that a local doctor cured him. But I think his interview from the 1930s was more accurate there, and he likely got it in France. He did remember coming to the hospital, possibly because of his VD, but he thought it was the late 1920s ... instead of the early 1930s.
It does sound like his hospital stay was beneficial, as he was attending AA meetings at the hospital and doing chores around the place. Interestingly, after he was discharged, the hospital followed him after he had been admitted to another hospital several times over the next few years, including when he essentially became a resident at the other hospital in 1954.
The file also noted that in case of his death, to notify several of the other Grace family members there in town ... so there was a relationship with them. Though when he died in 1959, it's unknown if they were contacted, but either way it doesn't matter, because his body wasn't claimed, as I noted earlier.
I'm amazed at how much I've been able to find out about this man. It's also ironic that I know so little about my own great-grandfather, but yet his brother I know more than anyone else among the siblings. Enough details of his life match up so that I can reconstruct his life pretty well, and there's so many colorful stories. He was always the most mysterious family member, because everyone had heard of him, but knew so few of the details ... but now I had them all. The mystery of James Lawrence Grace had been solved, and I was the one who did it.
But one thought does continue to nag at me ... the one person who would have REALLY enjoyed learning all of this was Mom. And she wasn't around for me to share it with. I did share it with some of her cousins, and that helped, but it's still not quite the same.
But I'm not going to stop. I'm going to keep on digging into the Grace family background, but also in all the other families.
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